Lavishly
gilded in copper and a high percentage of gold on a bronze cast in three-metals,
this antique Tibetan White Tara, Goddess of Compassion and Long Life, is considered
most revered. Here she is wearing a seven-pronged crown, her youthful face leaning
slightly to the right, with hands in teaching gesture (Dhyana mudra ), and holding
two Lotus flowers that ascend above her shoulders. The Goddess is dressed in a
pleated dhoti with strands of pearls and arm bands, seated in lotus posture on
a lotus throne, with eleven petals unfolding in gold and tinned black. Her emblems
are prominently raised in gilded gold, heightening a strong definition over the
copper skin tone, both her garment and the lotus pedestal are detailed with time-consuming,
stamped and hand-chased intricate motifs on hot metal. This antique Tibetan White
Tara statue was acquired from a traveling Buddhist monk in India, and was legally
exported from Tibet with the customs inspection wax seal intact. The superb quality
of this statue suggests that it was made for worship in a temple or a monastery.
Although we conservatively attributed this statue as from the early 1900s, there
is a strong possibility that it was made in the 19th century.