Metal

The lost-wax method is ancient, and the idea is simple. Make a figure in wax. Cover it in clay. Pour in molten metal, and the wax goes.

Metal objects in bronze, brass, copper and iron come from India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan and West and Central Africa, most cast that way. Himalayan figures of Garuda, Indian pilgrimage bronzes of Ganesh and Lakshmi, lota water vessels, temple and elephant bells, the vajra or dorje and hand-hammered singing bowls come from South Asian shrines and households, with bronze kagami mirrors and tea caddies from Japan. From Nigeria, Edo brass casting such as the royal leopard, emblem of the Oba of Benin. From Gabon, the Kota Mahongwe osseyba reliquary guardian bound in brass. From Burkina Faso, Gan python bracelets once used as currency. From Odisha, the small dhokra figures of the Khond.

Verdigris settles in the recesses; brass rubs gold on the high points.

The wax is long gone. The shape stayed.