Metalwork has been used to create Asian statues and decorative pieces for millennia. The earliest metalwork items were ritual vessels for worshipping or presenting offerings to ancestors and the gods, objects celebrating important events in the lives of rulers and ancestors, or images of gods and deities worshipped by devotees. Our collection has fine metalwork items made either using the lost wax casting method or by casting pieces using a mold. The lost wax produces a one-of-a-kind work of art because the mold is damaged, altered or destroyed during or after its use as exemplified by utilitarian and religious item made by Indian Dhorka metalsmiths. Molded pieces can produce multiple versions most often using bronze, brass, iron and metal alloys with smaller works made using gold and silver Originally only for the rich and imperially sanctioned, especially in China, metals were later used to make utilitarian vessels and utensils, ceremonial, ritualistic. decorative and religious objects, architectural ornamentation, personal ornament, weapons, armor and bells. Metal craft techniques include repousse, hammering, embossing, cloisonné, enameling among others. Thai, Burmese and Nepalese items in our site including Buddha images, are generally mold made using bronze, brass, and other copper alloys.
Showing 13–19 of 19 results
Thai bronze Lopburi style Buddha in Earth Witnessing position on decorative pierced throne on 3 footed curved base wearing simple 2-part Theravada Buddhist monk’s robe showing his modest religious devotion. Heavy statue filled with cement binder.
Han dynasty dagger-axes (ge) like this were ancient military weapons.The dagger-shaped blade was mounted to a pole or shaft and secured using a shank and the holes on the two sections of its body. Their use ended with the advent of chariots and tightly packed military formations. He piece comes with a uniquely fashioned box.
In the Han, belt hooks became a symbol of wealth, high status and power hung vertically from belt holes used in life and buried with the deceased for his journey to the afterlife . Ornamented with incised decoration this beautiful piece is dragon shaped with beautiful verdigris deposits.
Antique rare early coin silver Cross Pattée with flaring arms topped by an stylized Egyptian ankh. Heavy and large, softened by its smooth surface and simple elegance.
Luristan nomads made sophisticated bronzes prized in the ancient world for their designs and fine craftsmanship. This Iron Age finely cast curved long horned goat is set on a lucite base.
Dhorka brass lost wax method grain and rice measuring bowl. One-of-a-kind intricately decorated with horizontal and triangular striations. Bowls were symbol of Hindu goddess Lakshmi placed on home altars for puja.
This traditional African hammered iron gong is elegantly shaped like a flaring bell. Heat riveted, a forging process joining two metal pieces together, it was made by Congolese tribal people. Made with 5 parallel lines of 5 decorative round bulges on both sides, it was often held using a raffia handle and beaten using sticks covered with rubber at its end. Originally a ritual instrument, they were also beaten to call members of special restricted societies to meetings and were a symbol of wealth, prestige, and influence.
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