Busacca Gallery

A Tibetan Repousse Plaque, ca. 19th Century: 7" x 11-3/4" Detailed copper repousse plaque with Vairocana, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Akshobya and Ratnasambhava, the five Dhyani Buddhas on foliate ground with flower buds, flanked by dragons. Condition: Uneven patina. A Tibetan Repousse Copper Plate, Buddhist auspicious emblems and Chinese mythological symbols, all surrounded by dragons. 19th Century or Later, the art is a Buddhist concept reinforcing the transitory nature of all earthly phenomena. Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. There are few techniques that offer such diversity of expression while still being relatively economical. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. It is also known as embossing. The techniques of repoussé and chasing utilise the plasticity of metal, forming shapes by degrees. There is no loss of metal in the process, as it is stretched locally and the surface remains continuous. The process is relatively slow, but a maximum of form is achieved, with one continuous surface of sheet metal of essentially the same thickness. Direct contact of the tools used is usually visible in the result, a condition not always apparent in other techniques, where all evidence of the working method is eliminated. The word repoussé is French and means "pushed up". Repoussage is actually the correct noun to refer to the technique, with repoussé being an adjective referring to a piece to which the technique has been applied (e.g. "repoussé work", "repoussé piece"); however, in English it has become common to use repoussé as a noun. A famous contemporary sculpture created with this technique is the Statue of Liberty in Upper New York Bay. The statue was formed by copper repoussé in sections using wooden structures to shape each piece during the hammering process. Another example, and one from antiquity, is the late Eighteenth Dynasty mummy mask of Tutankhamun. The lapis lazuli and other stones were inlaid in chased areas after the height of the form was completed. The majority of the mask was formed using the technique of repoussé from what appears to be a single sheet of gold.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_art

Tibetan art refers to the art of Tibet. For more than a thousand years, Tibetan artists have played a key role in the cultural life of Tibet. From designs for painted furniture to elaborate murals in religious buildings, their efforts have permeated virtually every facet of life on the Tibetan plateau. The vast majority of surviving artworks created before the mid-20th century are dedicated to the depiction of religious subjects, for the most part being distemper on cloth or murals. They were commissioned by religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by uncredited artists. The art of Tibet may be studied in terms of influences which have contributed to it over the centuries, from other Chinese, Nepalese, Indian, and sacred styles.