Dimensions: Height 65 cm Wide 27 cm Depth 55 cm
Weight: 13.950 grams both

Each guardian figure is executed in repoussé and chased copper, richly gilded and finely detailed. They are shown seated astride ferocious Fo dogs (snow lions), each beast with bulging eyes, curling brows, bared fangs, and open jaws revealing the tongue, their curling manes and long tails sweeping dramatically over the back. Large bells hang from collars around their necks, emphasizing their role as guardians.

The figures themselves wear long flowing robes secured at the waist, finely chased with foliate patterns, and adorned with elaborate jewelry including necklaces, armlets, and tall, jeweled crowns surmounted by flaming jewels. Their torsos are partly bare, emphasizing the repoussé modelling of musculature beneath the gilt surface. The faces are serene yet commanding, with elongated eyes, arched brows, and faint smiles typical of Sino-Tibetan Buddhist sculpture of the late 17th and early 18th century.

The riders’ hands are raised in ritual gestures: one in abhaya mudrā (gesture of protection), the other likely once holding ritual attributes (now lost), such as vajras, swords, or banners — symbolic tools of guardianship and protection of the Dharma.

The repoussé technique, visible in the thin yet crisp detailing of the robes and ornaments, reflects the Tibetan adaptation of Newar metalworking traditions, transmitted through Nepalese artisans active at the imperial Qing court and in Tibetan monasteries. The gilding is applied thickly, with areas now rubbed from centuries of ritual use, exposing warm copper beneath and enhancing the sculptural depth.

These monumental figures would have been placed flanking the main altar of a temple or monastery, forming part of the protective pantheon that guards the sacred space. Their scale and paired composition suggest a commission for an important monastic institution, possibly linked to the Gelug order, whose monasteries in Tibet and Mongolia produced gilt repoussé guardians in the Qing period.

Comparative material:

• A related pair of repoussé gilt guardians on snow lions, dated to the 17th century, is preserved in the Potala Palace, Lhasa.

• Another example with similar gilt copper repoussé workmanship is in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. C2005.16.17).

• The dramatic gilded snow lions also echo depictions on Qing ritual thangkas and monastery furniture, where such guardian imagery symbolized imperial and spiritual authority.

The present pair is remarkable for its completeness as a matched set, its excellent preservation of gilding and chased detail, and its monumental presence. It is an exceptional survival of Sino-Tibetan Buddhist repoussé metalwork, with both art historical and devotional significance, suitable for a major private or institutional collection.