Dimensions: Height 30 cm Wide 7 cm Depth 6,5 cm without wood base

Weight: 1972 grams with wood base

Cast in gilt bronze and set with turquoise and coral inlay, the sculpture is conceived double-sided: two back-to-back standing goddesses share the same lotus pedestal and support a lotus-shaped capital with their upper hands, forming an architectural bracket. On the principal face the goddess’ lower hands present a jeweled flower garland (mālā), identifying her as Pushpa, the Flower/ Garland Offering Goddess; on the reverse the counterpart bears a small unguent/flask—the Gandha (perfume) offering—thus completing a pair of upahāra devī that ceremonially uphold the structure. Each figure wears a close-wrapped sari with beaded hems, a five-leaf crown, and pendant earrings; the calm oval faces, crisp jewelry, and inset stones typify Densatil’s high style.

These figures originally flanked or “propped” the bases of the tashi gomang reliquary stupas and columnar supports at Densatil, where offering goddesses proclaim the continuous act of devotion while literally supporting the sacred architecture.

The refined casting, thin mercury gilding, and turquoise/coral inlay reflect the handiwork of Newar master artisans from the Kathmandu Valley, who were commissioned in Central Tibet and decisively shaped Densatil’s celebrated aesthetic.

Densatil Monastery was largely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s; surviving gilt-bronze fragments of this quality are rare witnesses to one of Tibet’s most sophisticated sculptural programs.

References (for closely related Densatil architectural figures):

• Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. II, 2001, pp. 1022–1045.

• Olaf Czaja & Adriana Proser (eds.), Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Asia Society, 2014.

• Amy Heller, Art and Architecture of Tibet, 1999, pp. 206–213.