Twenty-One Taras, Miniature Set

Twenty-one separate wax models, twenty-one moulds. The set takes a workshop about five weeks and is the piece apprentices are given once they can be trusted with a face, because at three inches a mistake is cheap and the repetition teaches the hand.

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 with a dry, soft cloth. The antique tone is applied, not natural, so avoid brass polish and acidic cleaners — both cut straight through it. If the piece is handled often, wipe it down with a dry cloth afterwards; fingerprints etch brass over time. Keep away from damp.