Newari Statue-Making Tradition
Last year, I was looking for a Guru Rinpoche statue to present to my lama and that's how I discovered about the complicated work of statue making. There is a long tradition of handicraft in Kathmandu valley. The Newar people are the holder of this tradition, even though nowadays, it tends to be villagers from other ethnical groups who come to Kathmandu, and do these kinds of demanding works. Good statues are completely handmade and no detail should be neglected, if we wish the statue to be a good support for practice. There are four stages during the making-process. First, the statue is designed in wax and casted into copper. The next step is to clean, smoothen and carve it. At this important stage, all the details of the design and facial expression are finalized. This is maybe the most creative part. After polishing, the statue is gold or silver-plated, with or without oxidizing touch, depending on the desired style. The last crucial stage is to paint the face with gold powd...