Leuchungpa

CHINA, Tibet, Lhasa

Leuchungpa was a sculptor whose bronze Buddha statues can be widely found throughout Lhasa and Shigatse. Having a beautiful and natural construction, his representative sculptures contain two rows of neatly arranged lotus petals, which are joined at the concave waist of the throne upon which the figure sits.
According to Biography of the First Dalai Lama, Leuchungpa was invited by the Dalai Lama to sculpt several gilt bronze Buddha statues in 1458. These statues included Vairocana Buddha, Aksobhya Buddha, Amitayus Buddha, Ratnasambhava Buddha, and Amoghasiddhi Buddha. It is also documented that he produced sculptures of Yamantaka, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and two Cakrasamvara statues at Ganden Monastery, as well as a Sarasvati statue at Drepung Monastery, and Usnisavijaya statue at Sera Monastery. His Four-Armed Avalokitesvara is kept at Palace Museum in Beijing.