We have seen beautiful Tibetan Mandalas in our previous post here. These Butter Sculpture is another Tibetan Buddhist artistic visual impact.
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Tibetan butter sculptures (Tormas) are offerings moulded from butter, not carved; and is dyed before use, not painted afterwards.
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For the last 400 years, Tibetan monks have been using butter from yak milk to create intricate sculptures and putting them on display during the annual Butter Lantern Festival.
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The height of some of the butter sculptures can be as much as thirty feet.
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The making process of the butter sculpture is quite complicated. Because of the butter’s low melting point, art the lamas usually choose to make butter sculptures in a coldest room on the coldest day of the year. They use many tools in modeling, including wooden needles, hollow bones for making long threads, moulds for leaves and many types of spatulas.
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Since butter melts easily, the lamas must dip their hands into icy water to make their fingers cold enough then can they start to model. Only with numb hands can they begin the sculpting.
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In sub-zero temperature rooms, the elderly lamas and their students first prepare the frame of sculpture with bamboo sticks, ropes and others. Then they mix old butter sculptures with wheat ashes to form black mud, which is used to make the primitive body of the sculptures.
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After modifying the base, the lamas will apply colourful butter onto it. The figurines are outlined with gold and silver powder. Finally the small parts are fixed onto the frame with iron wire.
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As the creation lasts some three months in winter, many lamas have found their fingers deformed when a grand display is prepared.
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Most lama artists fell ill due to the cold conditions where butter sculptures are made.
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The colorful sculptures are destroyed after one year to illustrate the Buddhist concept of impermanence.
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As fewer lamas become involved in this ancient practice, it will surely hinder the future development of this ancient art.
Source: odditycentral, china.org.cn
[link]Tibetan butter sculptures (Tormas) are offerings moulded from butter, not carved; and is dyed before use, not painted afterwards.
[link]For the last 400 years, Tibetan monks have been using butter from yak milk to create intricate sculptures and putting them on display during the annual Butter Lantern Festival.
[link]The height of some of the butter sculptures can be as much as thirty feet.
[link]The making process of the butter sculpture is quite complicated. Because of the butter’s low melting point, art the lamas usually choose to make butter sculptures in a coldest room on the coldest day of the year. They use many tools in modeling, including wooden needles, hollow bones for making long threads, moulds for leaves and many types of spatulas.
[link]Since butter melts easily, the lamas must dip their hands into icy water to make their fingers cold enough then can they start to model. Only with numb hands can they begin the sculpting.
[link]In sub-zero temperature rooms, the elderly lamas and their students first prepare the frame of sculpture with bamboo sticks, ropes and others. Then they mix old butter sculptures with wheat ashes to form black mud, which is used to make the primitive body of the sculptures.
[link]After modifying the base, the lamas will apply colourful butter onto it. The figurines are outlined with gold and silver powder. Finally the small parts are fixed onto the frame with iron wire.
[link]As the creation lasts some three months in winter, many lamas have found their fingers deformed when a grand display is prepared.
[link]Most lama artists fell ill due to the cold conditions where butter sculptures are made.
[link]The colorful sculptures are destroyed after one year to illustrate the Buddhist concept of impermanence.
[link]As fewer lamas become involved in this ancient practice, it will surely hinder the future development of this ancient art.
Source: odditycentral, china.org.cn
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