Himalayan Art Resources

Tibet: Dungkar Tsatsa (A. Maki Archive)

Dungkar Caves (Tsatsa Molds) | Tsatsa Molds Main Page | Ariana Maki Main Page | A. Maki Outline Page

Tsatsa Molds are created for a variety of religious or community purposes. Sometimes the tsatsa clay is mixed with the ashes of holy teachers. Tsatsa can be made from a number of different elements but clay is the most common. The pieces exhibited here are mostly Indian in origin yet found in the Dungkar Cave of West Tibet.

There are three main subject types of clay tsatsa: [1] figurative (single or multiple figures), [2] text plaque, and [3] stupa shape (two-dimensional and three dimensional).

Sometimes tsatsa with figurative subjects have either Tibetan or Sanskrit mantras, aspirational prayers, or dedicatory prayers written below or around the central figure.

Jeff Watt 3-2012