Question

What is the ‘lost wax’ technique?

Answer 1

Hint: The ‘lost wax’ technique is one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques but is still widely used for producing jewelry and art.

Complete answer: The lost-wax technique is a process for making metal statues. The technique came by performing different steps. At first, an image was made of wax. This was then covered with clay and allowed to dry. Next, a tiny hole was made in the clay cover and is heated. The molten wax was drained out through the hole leaving a negative image of the sculpture inside the hardened clay. Then the molten metal was poured into that hard clay through the hole. The clay cover was carefully removed when the metal cooled and solidified and the image was cleaned and polished. That is the basic process but there are variations also. One variation is that the clay is left to dry without being heated. When molten metal is poured into the mold, the wax melts and runs out. Another variation involves a rough clay image being made at first and then it is covered with wax. Then to create the image you want to make, the external surface of the wax is finely carved. The clay core is left inside the metal casting when the wax melts away. The use of the lost wax technique is found in many parts of the world. Statues of Buddha in Nepal and Tibet are made by the same process.

Note: Metal objects play an important part in everyday life in India, both as domestic objects but also in religious life. In India, you see sculptural folk items such as animals, musicians, and dancers and statues of popular Hindu gods like Ganesh and Krishna made by lost wax technique.