ok..this is one of those multiple category things..so if it needs a different home..fine with me
sky stuff.?...naxi's ? buddhas?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/buddhist-iron-man-statue-nazi-space_n_1917918.html
(http://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/13/55/53/83/r-budd10.jpg)
'Iron Man' Buddhist Statue With Nazi Past Found To Have Been Carved From Space Rock
Posted: 09/27/2012 7:56 am EDT Updated: 09/27/2012 11:52 am EDT
By: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Published: 09/26/2012 01:23 PM EDT on LiveScience
It sounds like a mash-up of Indiana Jones' plots, but German researchers say a heavy Buddha statue brought to Europe by the Nazis was carved from a meteorite that likely fell 10,000 years ago along the Siberia-Mongolia border.
This space Buddha, also known as "iron man" to the researchers, is of unknown age, though the best estimates date the statue to sometime between the eighth and 10th centuries. The carving depicts a man, probably a Buddhist god, perched with his legs tucked in, holding something in his left hand. On his chest is a Buddhist swastika, a symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazi party of Germany.
"One can speculate whether the swastika symbol on the statue was a potential motivation to displace the 'iron man' meteorite artifact to Germany," the researchers wrote online Sept. 14 in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.
Iron man adventure
The iron man first came to Germany after a 1938-1939 Tibet expedition by zoologist and ethnology Ernst Schäfer, who was sent to the region by the Nazi party to find the roots of Aryan origin. The statue then passed into the hands of a private owner. [Fallen Stars: A Gallery of Famous Meteorites]
Stuttgart University researcher Elmar Bucher and his colleagues first analyzed the statue in 2007, when the owner allowed them to take five miniscule samples of it. In 2009, the team had the opportunity to take larger samples from the inside of the statue, which is less prone to contamination by weathering or human handling than the outside where the initial samples were taken.
They found that the statue is carved from a rare class of space rocks known as ataxite meteorites. These mostly iron meteorites have a high level of nickel. The largest-ever known meteorite, the Hoba meteorite of Namibia, is an ataxite meteorite that may weigh more than 60 tons.
It came from outer space
A chemical analysis of the iron man samples revealed they are a close match for a famous scattering of space rocks from the Siberia and Mongolian border. The Chinga meteorite field holds at least 250 meteorite fragments, most relatively small, though two topping 22 pounds (10 kg) have been found there. Scientists estimate the Chinga meteorite fell 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The field's first discovery was recorded in 1913, but the statue's existence suggests people were mining the field for artistic materials long before that, Buchner said.
(http://i35.servimg.com/u/f35/13/55/53/83/o-budd10.jpg)
The Buddha meteorite matches those found in the Chinga meteorite field.
The identity of the carved man is unclear, but the researchers suspect he may be the Buddhist god Vaisravana, also known as Jambhala. Vaisravana is the god of wealth or war, and he is often portrayed holding a lemon (a symbol of wealth) or moneybag in his hand. The iron man holds an unidentified object in his hand. The statue is about 9.5 inches (24 cm) tall and weighs about 23 pounds (10.6 kg).
Many cultures used meteorite iron to make daggers and even jewelry, Buchner and his colleagues wrote, and meteorite worship is common among many ancient cultures. But the Buddha carving is unique.
"The Iron Man statue is the only known illustration of a human figure to be carved into a meteorite, which means we have nothing to compare it to when assessing value," Buchner said in a statement. "Its origins alone may value it at $20,000; however, if our estimation of its age is correct and it is nearly a thousand years old it could be invaluable."
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
links to these articles found at above story link
•Space-y Tales: The 5 Strangest Meteorites
•History's Most Overlooked Mysteries
•In Photos: An Ancient Buddhist Monastery
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Clarification: Language has been changed to a headline elsewhere on the site to indicate that the artifact's material, and not the artifact itself, are of extraterrestrial origin.
at link 45 pics of other things that have been found..not connected to this item
8)
That is an amazing artwork and a really interesting history. I would say that it should be returned to Tibet.
+1
Quote from: IRCyborg on September 27, 2012, 06:24:40 PM
That is an amazing artwork and a really interesting history. I would say that it should be returned to Tibet.
There is some great art from North India and Tibet.
You should see the British Museum. Loot from the largest empire in Earth's history. It should all be returned but there's no chance of that happening.
This is my favourite. Tantra.
(http://www.newfrontier.com/nepal/golden-tantra-statute2.jpg)
Quote from: IRCyborg on September 27, 2012, 06:24:40 PM
I would say that it should be returned to Tibet.
Sadly that would only give it to the Chinese :(
A beautiful work of art in a most amazing medium!
If it does belong to Tibet, it should stay where the Chinese cant get to it..their sticky little fingers are all over Tibet.
I wonder how many works of ancient art have been absconded with by the Chinese from Tibetan displays and places? Numerous Im sure.
Quote from: Littleenki on September 28, 2012, 01:49:52 AM
I wonder how many works of ancient art have been absconded with by the Chinese from Tibetan displays and places? Numerous Im sure.
Probably not as many as those absconded by the British Empire...
Quote from: ArMaP on September 28, 2012, 01:42:21 PM
Probably not as many as those absconded by the British Empire...
Nowhere near as many. Imperialism stinks, whether British, Chinese or American. And don't tell me the Americans aren't an imperialist power. :P
Thanks for posting this Otter ;)
I was thinking of logging in after i read about the statue in the local rag, but was blindsided by work and the religious implications of posting "this space rock" here :P
It would be nice for this to be returned to Tibetans as they are spread out far and wide... many a temple in every nook and cranny of this planet it could reside in and call home 8)
One thing though that does make me wonder regarding how it ended up in the hands of my Avatar (and another mystery regarding Space Rock which I wont get into as its way too complex and above my paygrade) is why The Tibetans gave it away ?
Pure Speculation on behalf, Maybe they had a plan when they gave it away :o
Not to go against the grain at all in regards to returning the Space Rock carving, but hey remember that Taiwan have a Very nice Collection of Books, and curios from the Region ;D
I have visited this musuem and its insane to contemplate what they have.
National Palace Musuem Taiwan
http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/home.htm
One very interesting piece they have :
Gilt Mandala Inlaid with Turquoise and Coral
Tibetan, Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911)
http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/collection/selections_02.htm?docno=908&catno=12&pageno=2