Vajradhara

The crossed arms are the difficulty here. Undercut on both sides, they trap the mould, so the wax has to be built in a sequence that lets the investment flow behind the wrists. It is the reason cheap Vajradhara castings always look thick at the chest.

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.