| Lost Wax Casting is a traditional casting
method which was at its peak during the rule of Chola Dynasty in South India. It was in
this period that the Indian craftsmen created some of the finest Bronze figurretes in the
world. The simple elegance and relaxed air of the forms, usually deities coupled with
their restrained decoration sets them apart from other South Asian bronze sculpture. The process involves creation of a basic form in any material - mud
or wood or some other similar material.The form is then covered with a coat of wax on
which the form details are also created. On drying, this coat is covered with a coat of
fine wet clay. On drying, yet another coat of clay or mud is added which too is left for
drying.
Subsequent to this, the entire structure is covered with
clay mixed with rice husks. The assembly is then bound by wire. Thereafter, the assembly
is heated to pour out the wax, leaving behind a hollow cast. Molten metal is poured into
this cast to create the desired form.
On completion of this process, the casted figure is
finished and detailed through months of chiseling, filing and polishing.
Lost-Wax casting has many variations in different parts of
the country. Tribal India too uses the same technique to create their artifacts, one of
the better known ones being the Dhokra Casting of the tribals of
Bastar (Madhya Pradesh), West Bengal and Orissa. |
