Milarepa: A Narrative Sculpture (Tibetan Buddhist Deity)

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A typical aspect of Milarepa's iconography is his slender, well-formed arms and legs and his boyish face, all of which are incongruously juxtaposed with the flaccid flesh below his breasts and his rotund belly. His right hand cups his ear, and the left is placed naturalistically in his lap. This is the most intriguing feature in the portrayals of Milarepa. In a general way, this gesture is appropriate for a Buddhist adept who is a shravaka, or listener. Specifically relevant to Milarepa is the fact that he was a master of the esoteric teachings of Tantra, which were only orally transferred from guru to disciple. This gesture, therefore, signifies Milarepa's capacity to retain those doctrines and teachings in his ear. As he himself said: "Unless the secret teachings be retained within one's ear, what gain is it to suffer sorrow?"

This sculpture is not merely a hieratic portrait of the most famous saint of Tibet, but it also has a narrative content. The stag in the forefront of the base of this statue embodies the following episode from Milarepa's life: 

When Milarepa was living in a high mountain near the border between Nepal and Tibet, the serenity of his retreat was disturbed one day by the barking of a dog. It was a hunter's bitch on trail of a deer. On emerging from his cave, Milarepa noticed the frightened deer. Out of compassion, Milarepa sang a song for him. This proved to be much soothing to the deer. As the deer sat by Milarepa's side, the bitch approached and she too became docile on hearing Milarepa's sermon. Finally arrived the hunter as well, who, incensed at Milarepa, attempted to kill him with his bow and arrow. But the arrow missed Milarepa. Even after this had transpired, the compassionate and sympathetic Milarepa preached to the hunter as well and converted him. The reformed hunter came to be known as Cirarepa.

Nepalese Copper sculptures – Their Care and maintenance

Nepalese sculptures are well-known throughout the globe for their distinctive features. The artists of Nepal specialize in making small religious figures, especially Buddhist and Hindu, and ritual objects in copper or bronze alloy. The characteristic features of sculptures of Nepal are elongated and languid eyes, exaggerated physical postures, round facial features, and sensuous youthful bodies. All these features exhibit a high level of skill and exquisite beauty that draw their influence from the artistic style of the Gupta and Pala Empires from ancient India. Nepali sculptures are especially appreciated for perfectly portraying the spiritual cultures of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Maintenance of copper statues

• Since Nepali statues and sculptures are gold-gilded and are also sometimes inlaid with semi-precious or precious stones, using any chemical solutions will damage their beautification.
  
  
• To retain the natural shine and luster of a copper sculpture, it is necessary to dust the piece periodically. This helps prevent the accumulation of dust on the surface that covers their actual beauty. You can usually safely dust it with a soft cloth or cotton ball with the barest amount of cool water. No amount of water should be left off after cleaning.
  
  
• You can also use natural oils such as coconut oil and wipe down every inch of the sculpture with a cotton ball. After applying it, you will notice a beautiful natural shine on the sculpture. This also prevents it from getting tarnished very quickly. You should avoid using any special cleansers that aren’t meant to be used on copper statues. 

The ancient artists of Nepal preferred to use copper more than any other material due to its amazing properties. It is a soft and malleable metal that makes it suitable for molding into any desired shape or form. A sculpture requires a structure with realistic intricate details and copper is an appropriate material for this purpose. Although copper sculptures do not need much care and maintenance, you should not question the need of cleaning them carefully. 

The artist works on the details of the statue using various tools. It is then polished to get a shiny and lustrous surface.

Now comes the most important part of Nepalese art which is gold gilding. This is done by the traditional fire gilding method. A mixture of mercury and 18K gold is applied on the surface of the statue and heat is applied using a flame torch. The result is that mercury evaporates along with impurities, leaving a pure 24K gold finish.