History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c34.s4.t1: Casting

v1.c34.s4.t1.1

At first, a resin model of ornament is prepared with the help of fingers alone. It is afterwards enclosed in a mixture of clay and cowdung. The enclosed model is provided with containing the metal and later placed on the fire. After gradual heating, the molten metal enters through the vent and reaches the resin model. The resin model melts ultimately and gives place to a similar model of molten metal. Thus, an exact replica or the resin model is produced in gold or silver. This is probably the crude form of the present ‘cire-perdue’ or lost wax method.