New Avalokiteshvara Statue | Lhasa | Photos of Tibet

A photo from Lhasa, Tibet, of a new unpainted clay statue of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

In the backstreets of Lhasa, near the old Barkhor, we came across a workshop making Buddhist statues including this beautiful clay sculpture of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The statue is unfinished and waiting to dry - there is still work to be done underneath the arms - which seems to add to the beauty.

The sculpting of the face and hands is finely detailed and the features are superb. The crown has been moulded separately and is held in place with metal wires.

Many of the precious metal statues of the Buddha in the monasteries of Tibet were destroyed and are now being replaced with simpler and cheaper clay and wood versions.

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Portrait format.

A guide to approx sizes
A3: paper size 42x29.7cm, image size 40x28cm
A2: paper size 59.4x42cm, image size 57x40cm
70x50cm paper size, image size 68x48cm