Compared to thangkas and statues, Tibetan »tsa tsas« (or »tsha tshas«) have played only a minor role among Himalayan antiques. Due to their size and content, as well as the limited number of offers, they have rarely attracted much attention from collectors. Consequently, auction houses either exclude them from their auctions entirely or include only a few lots. The prices achieved also do not usually come close to those of other Himalayan antiques.
If deposited in caves or rock niches by their donors, clay or loam tsa tsas have a short lifespan due to climatic conditions, which naturally reduces the supply of these tablets considerably. However, tsa tsas used to fill stupas immediately after their creation can survive undamaged for several hundred years. Since air-dried tsa tsas have a relatively short lifespan, the vast majority are fired.
In terms of content, tsa tsas are as interesting as thangkas or statues because they are based on the same principles of Buddhist iconography and are equally diverse. The aforementioned lack of market interest in old tsa tsas, and their comparatively low current prices, still gives collectors the opportunity to add authentic old specimens to their Tibetan collections. This is not possible with historical thangkas, and is even less possible with the more valuable old bronze statues.
The »niche existence« of tsa tsas has another advantage that should not be underestimated: there are virtually no fakes! These would only be produced if the effort involved were offset by a positive expected return, and if there were demand. However, this is not the case with tsa tsas. Their rather complicated manufacturing process requires suitable stamp moulds, materials and knowledge of the complex »production« process. Consequently, offers of »duplicates« are very rare on the internet, unlike counterfeits which dealers could offer on the market.
In rare cases, however, identical Tsa Tsa may be offered several times. However, this does not necessarily indicate that it is a fake, as several copies of the same tsa tsas were always produced using the original stamps. The younger a Tsa Tsa is, the more likely this is to happen. With increasing age it becomes less and less likely.
Example of two surviving old identical Tsa Tsas made with the same mold.
| Available Tsa Tsas on our website |
| Currently 66 different specimens |