Four-Armed Chenrezig

Chenrezig is the patron of the Kathmandu valley, and this is the piece the Patan workshops cast most often. Familiarity shows in the quality: the mould is refined every few years, and the hands — four of them, all different — come out cleaner than on any other multi-armed form we stock.

Cast by the lost-wax method the Newar workshops of Patan have used for roughly a thousand years. The artisan models the figure in wax, encases it in a clay and rice-husk mould, fires the mould so the wax runs out, and pours molten metal into the void that is left. The mould is broken to release the casting, so no two pieces from it can ever be identical. Chasing, filing and detailing the face are then done entirely by hand — the slowest part of the work, and the part that decides whether a statue is any good.

Dust weekly with a dry, soft cloth; a natural-bristle brush reaches into the crown, the jewellery and the petals of the lotus base. Never use water, metal polish or any commercial cleaner — the dark tone is a deliberate chemical patina and polishing strips it permanently. Keep out of damp rooms and direct sun. Lift by the base, never by an arm or an attribute.