Chinese Statue Depicting Tsongkhapa
About this piece
A hat like a flame, a seat like a lotus.
Chinese metalworkers cast this statue depicting Tsongkhapa in bronze in the 19th century. Tsongkhapa is the revered teacher associated with the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and he is often shown wearing a pointed scholar’s cap. Here he sits cross-legged with his hands raised in a teaching gesture, a stem of lotus rising on each side, and the tops of those blossoms probably once held attributes. The bronze carries a warm gilded surface, with darker tones settled into the folds of the robe. A lotus base with layered petals supports him.
About twelve inches tall. Calm enough to lower the temperature of a shelf.







