231 - A LARGE TIBETAN CLAY TSA TSA WITH POLYCHROME PIGMENTS DEPICTING BUDDHA AKSHOBYA,

A LARGE TIBETAN CLAY TSA TSA WITH POLYCHROME PIGMENTS DEPICTING BUDDHA AKSHOBYA, Dimensions: not stated Weight: not stated A large Tibetan clay tsa tsa preserving polychrome pigments, moulded with Buddha Akshobhya seated frontally within a compact devotional composition. The figure is shown in meditative posture, framed by an architectural surround whose raised details retain contrasting passages of colour. Wear to the pigments and softened high points reveal the earthen body beneath and give the relief a distinctly tactile surface. Tsa tsas are moulded sacred images made from clay, often produced as acts of merit and deposited in stupas, shrines, caves or other consecrated places. Their repeated manufacture did not make them merely decorative multiples: each image could participate in devotional practice and carry the presence of the deity represented. Akshobhya is one of the Five Tathagatas of Vajrayana Buddhism and is associated with the eastern direction and mirror-like wisdom. The survival of coloured pigment is particularly important here, reminding us that Tibetan devotional sculpture was conceived as a vivid visual presence rather than as bare clay alone.