Shakyamuni Buddha, Fire-Gilt

Fire-gilding is the reason a piece like this costs what it does. Gold is dissolved in mercury, painted onto the copper, and the statue is heated until the mercury drives off and leaves pure gold bonded to the surface. It is slow, dangerous work done by a handful of families in the valley, and the depth of colour it gives cannot be reproduced by electroplating.

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.

Fire-gilding is a thin skin of pure gold over copper and it abrades easily. Dust only with a clean, dry cotton cloth, with no pressure. Never use polish, solvent, water or a gritty microfibre cloth. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from steady incense smoke, which dulls the surface over the years. Handle with cotton gloves or by the base — skin oils leave marks that set.