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The Four Harmonious Friends Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Kettle (Made in Nepal)

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Item Code:	ZCU03
Specifications:	Copper Statue
Height:	10.8 inch
Width:	11.7 inch
Depth:	7.5 inch
Weight:	2.58 kg

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THE GROUP OF SYMBOLS CONSISTS of the following animals:

1). The Partridge or Grouse (gong-ma-sreg, Skt. kapinjala)
2). The Hare (ri-bong, Skt. sasa)
3). The Monkey (spre'u, Skt. kapi)
4). The Elephant (glang-po-che, Skt. hastin)

The fable of the Four Harmonious Brother is told in the canonical text, the Foundation of Discipline ('Dul-ba gzhi, Skt. Vinayavastu). Buddha Sakyamuni is supposed to have told it to his disciples in order to impress on them the importance of mutual respect and the practice of the Buddhist virtues. The following short account comes from Panglung Rinpoche's German version of the narratives found in the Mulasarvastivada-vinaya:

Once there lived in the forest a partridge, a hare, a monkey, and an elephant, who were friends. With the aid of a tree, they established their respective ages, and accordingly, the younger animals respected the elder ones. They obeyed the law and lived a virtuous life. Soon, all the animals adopted their ways, and eventually the king of the country did likewise. On this account, peace and happiness prevailed in the land, and this was praised by Indra. Buddha was the partridge, Sariputra the monkey, Maudgalyayana the elephant, and Ananda was the hare.

It is clearly a deeply rooted wish in various cultures to propagate the message of unity, harmony, and collaboration as valuable factors for survival, and fables are often employed for this purpose. In the West, there is the somewhat similar tale of the Bremen Town Musicians, told by the Brothers Grimm. The tale of the Four Harmonious Brothers was no less beloved in ancient India, and remains so to this day in Tibet and Mongolia.

In pictures, the animals are always shown as a pyramid with the partridge at the top, under him, the hare carried by the monkey, who is sitting on the elephant. Whether this pyramid represents the different generations, the social classes, or simply the cooperation of different types of individuals, in any case they are meant to show the viewer the benefits of cooperation for the general good.

How are Nepalese copper statues made?

Nepalese statues and sculptures are best known for their unique small religious figures and ritual paraphernalia for over two thousand years. These are mainly cast in copper alloy. Nepal draws influences from the artistic styles of Buddhism and Hinduism, and therefore the sculptors of the country specialize in making the icons of both these religions. Over the years, Nepalese sculptures evolved into their own distinctive iconography. Some characteristic features of these sculptures that differ from other pieces are exaggerated physical postures, youthful and sensual features, languid eyes, wider faces having serene expressions, and ornate flourishes. The Buddhist deity icons of Nepal have tremendous demand in countries such as China and Tibet for ritual purposes in their temples and monasteries.

Nepalese statues and sculptures have a high copper content and therefore develop a slightly reddish patina on the surface as they age. However, the most unique feature of Nepalese copper statues is their decorative detailing. The pieces are heavily gilded and sometimes inlaid with semi-precious stones. This embellishment protects them from getting tarnished. The traditional lost-wax method for casting Nepalese copper statues remains the most practiced technique in Nepal for many centuries. This process involves many steps and requires skilled artists.

The first step in lost-wax sculpting is to make a wax replica of the desired Buddhist deity to be cast in copper. This replica is created by hand and therefore needs excellent artistic skills otherwise fine features will be lacking.

Once the wax replica is made, it is then coated with a special mixture of clay with a brush. This layer of clay is hardened when left to dry. A small hole is made on the base of the wax mould so that the wax flows away when it is heated.

At this stage, a hollow mould in the shape of the deity is obtained.

This is the time to pour liquid copper into the hollow mould which is then allowed to cool and harden inside a container of cold water. When the liquid metal has hardened, the mould is removed and the statue within is revealed.

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.

The lost-wax method of sculpting is the most preferred technique

for artists to cast a metallic statue having intricate details. Since Nepalese copper sculptures require extraneous effort for giving a majestic look by adding special embellishments, it takes several weeks to complete one masterpiece. A 24K gold gilded copper sculpture retains its brilliant luster for many years and appears as like before. Nepalese sculptures continue to remain one of the finest specimens of the art of the East that have a strong aesthetic appeal that other sculptures cannot match.