One
important reason for Kathmandu Valley's prosperity
was its mastery over metal art early on in its development.
Gold was brought in from Tibet to be turned into
coins and jewelry. Statues were made for local use
and they were also exported to other Himalayan areas
by the tenth century AD. The method of metal casting
practised in the Valley is called the lost wax casting
method. Unique in approach, the style involved creating
a wax image of final product intended, casing the
image in clay and then heating the image so that
the wax melts away and leaves a hollow that allows
sculptures to pour in molten metal to acquire the
wanted shape. Images are created using simple procedures
that yield complex and quality results. The lost
wax metal casting process is described below.
A
wax image in exact size and details of the desired
product is created. The wax image is covered over
with a fine layering of clay and dried. Women often
do the finer, more demanding work that requires
attention to detail. A thick layer of mud able to
hold molten metal once baked is added.
The
wax images, now with a thick clay covering,
are dried. Once hard, they are placed in an
oven. The handmade oven, though it looks primitive,
can achieve temperatures that can melt gold
if required. The wax image within the clay
burns or melts away. However, in place of
the image remains a hollow space where molten
metal can be poured in within the clay structure.
The
image is now ready for the next phase of the
metal casting process. It needs to cool down.
Many of the artisans involved in the process
are young. Their work is supervised by a master
craftsman. The same oven is again prepared,
this time to melt copper, the most popular
metal in use in the Kathmandu Valley today.
Molten
copper is poured into the hollow terra cotta
structure. Copper is graded as raw Nepalese
or Indian and finer Japanese or Korean. The
metal is allowed to cool and harden. The initial
effort of the artisan while creating the wax
image will decide the quality of the product.The
terra cotta layering is tapped away and the
rough image is seen. Imperfections will be
worked upon before the product is ready.
Visible
cracks and faults are corrected through a process
that involves reheating. The image is also cleaned
during the process. Vegetable dyes and agents are
used to bring out the color in some cases. While
some statues are created whole, larger images require
the joining of many pieces. The chisel enhances
the details, the statue has to be smooth and perfect
before its face and other details can be painted.
The master craftsman is involved in the process.
The statue goes to the painters who add expressions
with silver, color, or gold layerings. Done well,
this process doubles the value of the statue in
the market.
COLLECTIBLES