Buddhist Statues and Stupas

A Tibetan Buddhist statue or rupa is a sacred Dharma support and a source of inspiration for your practice. It is believed that statues of the Buddha first appeared in North India during the 1st Century CE. In Tibetan Buddhism, a rupa is usually the main focal point on a temple shrine or personal altar. Once a rupa has been consecrated it becomes alive with blessing. We therefore encourage you to take the time to find the right statue that will inspire you and others on the path. Each of the Lost Wax copper and gilt statues we offer from Nepal are selected from hundreds of statues and only the finest make it onto our website. The metal statue makers of Patan have long been regarded as the very best in the world and for many centuries they have been supplying Tibetan monasteries and individual practitioners throughout Tibet and the Himalayan regions. We pay a premium for our Nepalese statues because they are cherry picked for their exceptional beauty and they can often take many weeks or months for the statue makers to complete.

The ancient lost wax process is used in the making of all our fine quality copper and gilt statues. This is a time consuming process where a wax model of the statue is prepared entirely by hand. It is then covered in clay and heated until the wax melts. Molten copper alloy is then poured into the cavity and the original wax model becomes visible in the metal. The statue is then made smooth and the finer detail is added by hand. When the image is ready, gold or silver is applied by fire gilding the statue. This whole process is highly skilled work, which makes the Lost Wax statues amongst the very best in the world. A single statue can take many weeks to create, which is why they are more expensive than other metal statues in the marketplace.

Finding the balance between affordability and quality is not always easy, however, we do try to select the best statues within different price ranges. We personally travel to Nepal and choose each piece by hand and pay very close attention to each form. All of our high end statues are cast using the 'Lost Wax' process and gilded in real gold or silver. The faces are beautifully hand painted and also enriched with gold and the body is often engraved to add auspicious symbols and special details. Many are inlaid with gemstone cabochons to enhance the overall beauty and visual impact of the piece. The correct iconographic detail and the superior hand finishing make our statues worthy of a place on your shrine.

Unless otherwise stated, statues are crafted from pure copper and partially gilded with 24k gold. The faces are also hand painted using paint enriched with 24k gold.