Dimensions: Height 10,3 cm Wide 7,8 cm Depth 2,5 cm

Weight: 118,3 grams

The molded clay votive tablet depicts the Buddha seated in dhyānamudrā upon a double-lotus pedestal, the right hand resting in bhūmisparśa, the left placed meditatively in the lap. A beaded nimbus surrounds the figure, the upper field flanked by two birds holding foliate sprays in their beaks. The surface retains rich traces of original polychromy in red, blue, and green, as well as areas of gilding on the body.

Tsa tsas of this type were produced by pressing clay into wooden or metal molds, often consecrated with sacred substances, then dried and sometimes painted. They were intended as portable devotional images, distributed as votive offerings or deposited in stupas and reliquaries. The presence of vegetal scrolls and birds here is an unusual embellishment, pointing to a particularly decorative mold.

Condition: Surface encrustations, age cracks to the reverse, some flaking of pigment, but overall well-preserved with rare surviving polychrome and gilding.