19th
century Tara, Nepal 
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Alain
Rouveure Figures
Tucked in the very heart of the mighty Himalayas, the
Kathmandu valley in
the Kingdom of Nepal has for centuries
been home for craftsmen creating some
of the finest
religious figures in that part of the world with many
valuable
collections in museums today.
Made
for the temples and monasteries as well as
private households as far as Tibet
and China, all
the
beautiful statues in Alain Rouveure’s collections are
produced
following the very ancient tradition of the
“lost wax” process.
Unlike
a “cast” which can generate 1000’s of the same item -
especially
good for the tourist industry because
it is cost efficient
at the expense of fineness, the wax method starts by
an
individual artist carving the figure out of pure bee’s wax. This
wax model will be sold to a small family-run
specialist foundry workshop. Prices
for such wax works very much depend on their age and
the ability and talent
of the artist in giving life and ideal proportions
to the figure chosen. Some
will reach four-figure sums… 
©Alain
Rouveure 2005 |
About
our figures In
the lost wax process, fine clay
is carefully packed around the wax, slowly
left to dry and then baked.
Whilst still hot, the “lost” wax is
poured out from an escape hole and molten brass, copper or bronze is poured
in and left to set. 
A
gold plated statue of
Sakyamuni Buddha The
clay mould is then broken to
retrieve the metal figure. Patient and skilled
carvers will then spend
several days chiselling, filing and burnishing the
figure and giving it life again. Some statues will have
silver or 24 carat
gold applied
onto them. With
the “lost wax” process
only one figure can be produced
at
any one time. It is unique! And
remember... ...no
child labour
no
use harmful chemicals
no environmentally damaging synthetic dyes
no looting
of temples... are
involved in production processes.
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