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Welcome to Handmade Handicraft
At Handmade Handicraft, we prioritize simplicity, reflected in our user-friendly website design. We have streamlined the process so everything you need is just a click away.
While our website does not support online shopping, we've incorporated a convenient shopping cart system to assist you in sending us your inquiries. Please note, we do not process payments on our site. All transactions will be handled via email, respecting the inquiries you submit.
Should you encounter any issues while submitting your inquiries, please contact us via mobile app, email, or follow the procedure outlined below. We've provided documentation to guide you through the selection process.
Good selecting Procedure
In every product you will find Order Now and Quick Inquiry buttons, they are the two process of sending us your enquiry.
For Business ordering standard quantity
This website has been designed to incorporate retail and wholesale pricing in one place. You can increase or decrease the quantity based on which you will be provided with suitable prices instantly.
For Business ordering Bluk quantity [Above 100 pcs]
This is not a direct shopping website. So no payments are needed for placing an order. Please feel free to send us an order for the product you are interested in, mentioning the approximate quantity. Based on which we will send you a wholesale price quotation.
Vasudhara
Vasudhara, whose name means "stream of gems" in Sanskrit, is the Buddhist bodhisattva of wealth, prosperity, and abundance. She is popular in many Buddhist countries and is a subject in Buddhist legends and art. Originally an Indian bodhisattva, her popularity has spread to southern Buddhist countries. Her popularity, however, peaks in Nepal where she has a strong following among the Buddhist Newars of the Kathmandu Valley and is thus a central figure in Newar Buddhism.She is named Shiskar Apa in Lahul and Spiti. She is related to Hindu great goddess Lakshmi, and her Sanskrit name Vasundhara indicates she is the source of the eight "bountiful Vasus." Therefore, according to the epic Mahabharat, she is the bounty that is the waters of the river Ganges-the goddess, Ganga whose origin is the snows of the Himalayas.
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Icongraphy In Buddhist art, Vasudhara has a consistent iconography. She can easily be identified as a bodhisattva by the elaborate headdress and the extensive amount of jewelry she wears. Her skin has a golden hue in bronze and painted images. This color is associated with precious metals and symbolizes opulence, fertility, and generosity in Buddhist iconography. Vasudhara is typically seated on a lotus flower base in the lalitasana, or royal pose, with one foot tucked in towards her and the other hanging of the flower base but resting on a small treasure. She can, however, also be represented in a standing position. When standing, Vasudhara has a full vase representing abundance underneath each foot.
Despite this consistency in her representations, the number of her arms may differ from image to image. In visual representations, Vasudhara can have as few as two arms and as many as six. The two-armed representations are more common in Tibetan art and Indian art, while six-armed representations are almost exclusive to Nepalese art. Although the six-armed image originates in India, they are rare and only few examples have been found.
Vasudhara or Vasundhara, the 'treasure holder', is a popular Newar goddess of fertility and prosperity, and a consort of the wealth-god Jambhala. She sits in the posture of 'royal ease' on a moon disc and a pink lotus, with her left leg drawn up and her extended right foot resting (similar posture to Green Tara - showing her willingness to "come down from her lotus throne" to help those who call upon her) upon a white conch shell (symbolising having conquered/having perfect control of speech) and a golden treasure-vase (wealth/prosperity). She is beautiful and attractive, as youthful as a sixteen-year-old, and her golden body scintillates with radiant light. Her three beautiful and smiling faces are coloured red (right - red being the colour of controlling), golden (centre, golden being the colour of increasing), and red (left), representing perfect compassion, wisdom understanding, awareness and insight into the past, present and future, she is adorned with the five divine silks and the eight jewelled ornaments. Her first right hand makes the gesture of generosity, while her other two right hands hold the 'Three Jewels' of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, - symbolising the necessity of maintaining the commitments of refuge to the three jewels, and a golden rosary, symbolising continuous practise and self-examination, vital to enlightenment. With her three left hands she holds a small treasure-vase, for long life and initiation, an ear of grain, for abundant harvests and earthly benefits, and a sacred text to grant wisdom. In her hands, Vasudhara holds a variety of objects attributed to her. Most representations show her holding a sheaf of corn in her left hand, symbolizing an abundant harvest. She may also be holding a gem or small treasure, a symbol of wealth. Representations with more arms, such as the six-armed Nepali representation, also depict her holding a full vase and the Book of Wisdom. With her free hands, Vasudhara performs mudras. A commonly seen mudra in paintings and figurines featuring Vasudhara is the varada mudra, also known as the charity mudra, which symbolizes the "pouring forth of divine blessings." In her 2 armed one faced form, she has a golden body, representing the earth element, Ratnasambhava in her crown, sometimes 2 eyes or 3 eyes, if with 3 eyes - representing perfect awareness, understanding, compassion, wisdom and insight into the past, present and future. Her 2 hands holding a sheaf or corn for agricultural prosperity and to "sew the seeds" of enlightenment, and either a single wish fulfilling jewel or a bowl of wish fulfilling jewels for wealth and wish fulfilment. Vasudhara is the subject of numerous bronzes and paintings. She is predominantly the central figure of bronze sculptures or painted mandalas. She may also, however, appear alongside her consort, Vaiśravaṇa (Jambhala) the Buddhist God of Riches. Despite his status, she surpasses him in popularity and is more commonly the central figure of her own mandalas
Use of Real Gold
This thangka of Vasudhara has real gold painted on its surface along with other paints. This is an ancient process of decorating the thangka in Tibetan Buddhism, Here gold is ground into gold dust, which is then mixed with other undisclosed material to make it paintable on the canvas. this mixture is then mixed with transparent glue and painted on the thangka.
Videos of Applying Gold in the Thangka
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Introduction to Thangka
A thangka, also known as tangka, thanka, or tanka, is a vibrant and intricate Tibetan Buddhist painting that serves as a visual representation of spiritual teachings. Crafted with meticulous detail on cotton or silk appliqué, thangkas depict a wide range of subjects including Buddhist deities, sacred scenes, mandalas, and narrative stories. These sacred artworks are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up for storage, resembling ancient scrolls. To protect their delicate nature, thangkas are mounted on textile backings and often adorned with a silk cover on the front. Proper preservation in dry environments is crucial to maintain the integrity and longevity of the silk.
These sacred paintings serve as objects of contemplation, inspiration, and instruction, guiding practitioners on their spiritual path. Thangkas provide a visual gateway to the world of Tibetan Buddhism, encapsulating its rich symbolism, iconography, and spiritual concepts. With their vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and skillful craftsmanship, thangkas offer a profound visual medium for deepening one's understanding and connection to the teachings of Buddhism.
Thangkas come in various sizes, ranging from small pieces resembling Western half-length portraits to grand-scale creations spanning several meters in each dimension. While the larger thangkas are intended for temporary display during religious festivals, the majority of these artworks are designed for personal meditation or as educational aids for monastic students. The compositions of thangkas are meticulously crafted, featuring intricate details and often incorporating numerous small figures. A central deity or focal point is typically surrounded by a symmetrical arrangement of other divine beings, symbols, or narrative elements that convey profound spiritual teachings.
How is Thangka made
First, the canvas on which the painting is to be executed is laid on a wooden frame to determine the required dimensions. This canvas is an extremely finely woven cotton material, referred to in the Holy Scriptures as "Çura Canvas".
Then the canvas is cut, hemmed and, with the use of sturdy strings, very tightly mounted in the wooden frame. Painting is carried out with the frame in an upright position, without any further rigid support or backing.
In this studio, our primary artist, who works virtually exclusively for us, applies the undercoat consisting of a mixture of chalk and glue to the canvas by hand. Other Thangka workshops have turned to mainly using industrially pre-primed canvas.
This photo shows how the canvas, after receiving its base coat followed by a second coating of bone glue, is polished and smoothed by hand with a stone to attain a perfectly smooth, featureless painting surface. Through this process the canvas becomes quite rigid, thereby providing perfect conditions to evoke very finest artistic detail and over-all superior painting quality.
Using a different Thangka, we see how, after mounting, the complete basic pattern of the respective theme is applied to the canvas.
The following picture shows the steps in creating a gold-based Thangka, such as our No PH 9, the "Holy Mount Kailash". To achieve more intensive colour, yet another prime coat, in ochre, is applied, followed by a coat of pure gold. The so-called Thangka painting gold is traditionally produced by members of the Newar people in Nepal. 24-karat gold is ground to finest powder and mixed with bone glue and water in proportions suitable for direct use in painting. Thus, the Thangka gold is not gold leaf at all! Silver can be processed and used in the same way: Mount Kailash and the surrounding peaks in our completed Thangka were not painted with white paint, rather with precious silver.
Here, the nearly completed piece has been removed from the wooden frame. Now only the very finest finishing touches remain to be added, such as compacting the gold and giving Mount Kailash its silver mantle.
K. Lama regarded his already half-finished thangka proudly
The Mount Kailash Thangka, including the black margin (which can also facilitate the fastening of a traditional brocade frame), is now complete. Only the background gold must be compacted in the places where it is later intended to exhibit a sheen.
Here we see an old ballpoint pen casing into which a specially cut agate has been fitted. The back of this semi-precious stone is slightly concave and can be used to compact gold over extensive areas of the Thangka, while the blunt point is used to lineally compact gold, thus creating a shiny effect.
In this way, through partial compaction of the gold or refraining from compaction, nearly three-dimensional effects can be achieved. The glorious sheen of gold artistically treated in this way richly rewards the beholder or meditator with a Thangka possessed of an extraordinarily aesthetic aura.
