Offerings molded from butter, or butter sculptures, are central to spiritual development in Tibetan Buddhism. As a unique sculptural art in Tibetan culture, the art has an origin in Tibetan Bon religion and is considered one of the exotic flowers in the treasury of Tibetan art.

 Origin of Butter Sculptures

In 641, when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty was married to the then Tibetan king Songtsan Gambo, she brought along a sculpture of Sakyamuni, which was later enshrined and worshipped at the Jokhang Temple. To show their respect, the Tibetan people presented offerings in front of the Buddha. According to the traditional customs observed in India, offerings to Buddha and Bodhisattvas were divided into six categories: the flower, Tu incense, divine water, Wa incense, fruit, and the Buddha light. By that time, however, all of the flowers and trees had died, so the Tibetan people made a bunch of flowers from butter instead.

Butter sculptures are a kind of butter-molded craftwork where the major raw material is butter, a creamy food among the Tibetans in China. The solid material, which is soft and pure with a faint scent, can be molded into vivid, bright and exquisite craftworks.

In the beginning, butter sculptures were simple and the techniques were rough. Later, two institutions were set up in the Taer Monastery to train monk artists specializing in this art. With a passion for Buddha and the arts, the monks worked hard and learned from each other to overcome their own weaknesses, thus enriching the art in terms of pattern and content.

 The Making of Butter Sculptures  

The making of butter sculptures is rather unique and complex: Since butter melts easily it is modeled by hand in cold conditions (usually on winter days) by monk artists.

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