Metalwork

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.

  • SOLD Antique/Vintage Hammered Iron Gong on Stand, Democratic Republic of the Congo (3893BKR) $395

    SOLD Antique/Vintage Hammered Iron Gong on Stand, Democratic Republic of the Congo (3893BKR) $395

    $395.00
    H: 21″  W: 8″ D: 4.75″ | FOR SHIPPING INFORMATION CONTACT US AT 213-568-3030

    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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