Kalamandu
Shakya Atelier

Amitayus, Buddha of Long Life

Fire-gilt copper, crowned and jewelled

NPR 268,000

Quantity

KLM-AMITAY-GT-08

Amitayus holds the long-life vase in both hands, crowned and dressed as a sambhogakaya buddha rather than a monk — five-leaf crown, heavy earrings, silk scarves worked into the casting. Turquoise is set across the crown band.

What to expect from this order

  • Cast by hand in a named workshop

    Made by Shakya Atelier in the Kathmandu valley, and paid for directly. About the workshop

  • Dispatched in two working days

    Tracked the whole way. Anything over 10 kg travels by freight on a booked slot. Shipping and delivery

  • Nothing charged now

    Pay the courier on delivery, or by wallet or bank transfer once we have confirmed the piece. How paying works

  • 14 days to change your mind

    Return it within 14 days of delivery, in the condition it arrived in. Refund policy

The detail

Measurements, materials and how this one was made — the facts a photograph cannot carry.

Deity
Amitayus
Finish
Fire-gilt 24k gold
Posture
Seated in lotus
Inlay
Turquoise

Material
Gilt copper

Technique
Fire-gilding
Origin district
Lalitpur (Patan)
Artisan
Shakya family workshop, Patan

Width
13.4 cm
Length
9.7 cm
Height
20.3 cm
Weight
2.4 kg

Given at birthdays and at the start of a serious illness. The vase in the hands is cast separately and seated after gilding, so the join sits under the fingers where it cannot be seen.

Cast by the lost-wax method the Newar workshops of Patan have used for roughly a thousand years. The artisan models the figure in wax, encases it in a clay and rice-husk mould, fires the mould so the wax runs out, and pours molten metal into the void that is left. The mould is broken to release the casting, so no two pieces from it can ever be identical. Chasing, filing and detailing the face are then done entirely by hand — the slowest part of the work, and the part that decides whether a statue is any good.

Fire-gilding is a thin skin of pure gold over copper and it abrades easily. Dust only with a clean, dry cotton cloth, with no pressure. Never use polish, solvent, water or a gritty microfibre cloth. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from steady incense smoke, which dulls the surface over the years. Handle with cotton gloves or by the base — skin oils leave marks that set.

In-stock pieces are dispatched within two working days and tracked all the way. Pieces over 10 kg travel by freight on a booked slot rather than by parcel carrier.

You can return it within 14 days of delivery, in the condition it arrived in. If you changed your mind you pay the return postage; if it was faulty or damaged in transit, we do. The refund policy sets out how, and the shipping policy covers costs and timings.

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