Period:Unknown Production date:6thC-8thC
Materials:clay
Technique:mould-made
Dimensions:Height: 9.70 centimetres Width: 9.50 centimetres
Description:
Votive offering (Ts’a-ts’a) in the shape of a round stupa. Mould-made of coarse clay mixed with fibres. Unfired and therefore very fragile, some damage is visible.
IMG
![图片[1]-ts’a-ts’a BM-2011-3047.2-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/43/mid_01151605_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-ts’a-ts’a BM-2011-3047.2-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/43/mid_01151607_001.jpg)
Comments:See also original photography of the objects in situhttp://www.nri.org.uk/JN_wartime_photos/cft.htmphotos CFT4/5&6 It should be pointed out that Needham did not identify the object correctly by addressing it as “phallic temples”. Therefore we can assume that he was not fully aware of the way this kind of votive offering was used. Tsatsas are to this day part of a religious practice f.i. in Tibet, Thailand, Mongolia and Burma. Creating them is connected to a ceremony, and often they are placed inside a stupa in high numbers (up to several thousand objects) to “empower” the building. They can be placed around the stupa as well. While there are tsatsas that are used in connection with funerary rites, they are not used as grave goods. Therefore, Needham’s statement that he found these objects in a tomb can be doubted as well. It is more likely that the stupa collapsed and revealed the hollow core that had been filled with tsatsas.(For an overview over the religious practices connected with tsatsas see f.i.http://asianart.com/li/tsatsa.html; 28.11.2011)
Materials:clay
Technique:mould-made
Dimensions:Height: 9.70 centimetres Width: 9.50 centimetres
Description:
Votive offering (Ts’a-ts’a) in the shape of a round stupa. Mould-made of coarse clay mixed with fibres. Unfired and therefore very fragile, some damage is visible.
IMG
Comments:See also original photography of the objects in situhttp://www.nri.org.uk/JN_wartime_photos/cft.htmphotos CFT4/5&6 It should be pointed out that Needham did not identify the object correctly by addressing it as “phallic temples”. Therefore we can assume that he was not fully aware of the way this kind of votive offering was used. Tsatsas are to this day part of a religious practice f.i. in Tibet, Thailand, Mongolia and Burma. Creating them is connected to a ceremony, and often they are placed inside a stupa in high numbers (up to several thousand objects) to “empower” the building. They can be placed around the stupa as well. While there are tsatsas that are used in connection with funerary rites, they are not used as grave goods. Therefore, Needham’s statement that he found these objects in a tomb can be doubted as well. It is more likely that the stupa collapsed and revealed the hollow core that had been filled with tsatsas.(For an overview over the religious practices connected with tsatsas see f.i.http://asianart.com/li/tsatsa.html; 28.11.2011)
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