Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c22.89

c22.89

Brass casting is a craft as important or more so than that of wrought brass; but the lōkaruvō or founders belong to the lower division of the craftsmen. A brassfounder’s workshop is shown on Pl. V., 6. Three furnaces with crucibles are seen in the foreground, and some moulds on the left hand at the back. The method of casting is that known as cire perdue. In the case of solid articles such as images, a mould is first made in wax, then covered with fireproof clay prepared from white ants’ nests and other ingredients; the wax is then melted out through a hole in this covering of clay, and replaced by molten metal. In the case of hollow vessels, a solid model of the fireproof clay is first made, and a wooden rod being driven through the centre of the mass, it is turned smooth on a lathe. The model is then covered with wax, again turned smooth, and covered with clay. When dry, the wax is melted out through a hole in this outer layer, and replaced by metal. Objects so cast in brass are afterwards turned smooth, or carved or repoussed or damascened.