traditional wisdom current practices of bronze technology ... · udayakumar 2014: 772‐782 773...

Traditional Wisdom and Current Practices of Bronze Technology in Tamil Nadu; with Special Reference to Tanjore District

S. Udayakumar1 1. Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post‐ Graduate and Research Institute,

Pune‐411 006, Maharashtra, India (Email: [email protected])

Received: 19July 2014; Accepted: 08August 2014; Revised: 11September 2014 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 2 (2014): 772‐782

Abstract: This article brings light to traditional technique of bronze casting through generation to generation in Tamil Nadu with the help of literary source and practical knowledge. Bronze manufacture shows a remarkable degree of continuity in Tamil Nadu. The technique followed in the bronze casting is known as Cire‐Perdue or lost‐wax process. This technique is following still today by traditional bronze sculptor known as Sthapathi.

Keywords: Cire‐Perdue, Sthapathi, Bronze Image, Mānasara, Casting, Chola Period, Tanjore

Introduction The word bronze comes from “Brindisi”, the name of a small town and port on the Adriatic coast of Italy which had always been famous for its bronze image. The Latin ‘EsBrundusium (From Brindisi) subsequently becomes bronze’ (Kuppuram 1989).In India metal icons find a very special place in temple as well as within domestic shrines across the country (Udayakumar 2011). South India bronze sculptures are well known for their artistic excellence. The antiquity of bronze sculpture dates back to the Indus civilization (Bandyopadhyay 1987) or Chalcolithic period but it develops as an independent school of art during the classical period of the Pallavas, Cholas and the later dynasties of South India (Udayakumar 2011). In terms of understanding the casting process for producing metal image, the earliest evidence in South Asia, is seen in the Lost‐wax technique for the bull and dancing girl of Mohenjo‐Daro dated to around 2500 B.C (Bandyopadhyay 1987). Over the past millennia Indian metal workers have made breakthrough in the field of metallurgy, they succeeded in producing brass, which looks almost like gold. This was achieved by fusing zinc and copper (Agrawal, et al. 2010).

Another early specimen of metal art in South India is of a Chola period mother goddess figurine in bronze discovered at Adichanaullar in Tamil Nadu

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(Nagaswamy2003). Bronze images produced by the lost‐wax technique have been discovered from a number of places in South India dated between 750 A.D‐1100 A.D (Sivaramamurti1963). This time frame includes the Cholas (846‐1216 A.D), who succeeded the Pallavas in the middle of the ninth century and promoted temple building activities in the region (Sivaramamurti 1962; Mehta 1971).

Indian metal sculpture in the south India mostly flourishes during the Chola period, but there are some specimens discovered having a high aesthetic and technical quality belonging to Pallavas ruling from Kanchi. For example a Nataraj sculpture which belongs to the 8th century A.D., Kuram, District Chinglepet, (Government Museum, Madras) (Sivaramamurti 1962; Mehta 1971). Another fine Pallava sculpture Tripurantaka, 8th century A.D., locality unknown, (Gautam Sarabhai Collection, Ahmedabad). This is one of the finest examples of Pallava representation of Siva (Sivaramamurti 1962).

The medieval icons of Southern India which are among the most acclaimed Indian artistic innovations are those of the Cholas (9th ‐10th centuries). The most important phase of metal sculpture, especially the icons which flourished down south from the Tungabhadra river to extreme southern sometimes in the 10th‐11th centuries under the Chola of the Vihayalya line, ruling from Tanjore (Sivaramamurti 1962). Best known in Hindu iconography are representations of the dance of Siva which also captured the imagination of master sculptor Rodin (kuppuram 1989; Sirnivasan 1998). The early Chola epigraphy records the gift of images made by the emperors to the temple for worship “ghanamagaelundaruluvittachandisvaraparsadadevar” i.e., the god chandisvara‐prasadadeva cast solid and set up and “ghanapollalagachcheydarishabham” i.e., is bull cast hollow (Kuppuram 1989). Several images are mentioned in the temple inscriptions of Tanjore. These clearly specify that the principal image was cast as a solid object, while animals and pedestals could be hollow. Some important sculptures include the Somaskanda sculpture, early Chola 9th century A.D., Tiruvalangadu, District North Arcot, (Government Museum, Madras), a representation of Chandikesvara the steward of Siva’s household, of the 11th century A.D., Velankanni, District Tanjor, (Government Museum, Madras), (Sivaramamurti 1962), a mother and child sculpture representing Krishna and his foster‐mother, Yasoda, late Chola 13th century A.D., Thogur, District Tanjore Government Museum, Madras (Sivaramamurti 1962).

In the second century B.C Pantajali in his Mahabhashya an exposition of Panini’s works gives a vivid picture of the artisans in the village. The Upanishads, Manusamhita, Yajnavalkya Samhita and Harivamsa also provide information on the casting method (Jafar 1988). The Agnipurana, Matsyapurana of the Gupta period (4th to 6th century AD) provides a detailed description of the technique of casting bronze image (Ruth 1962).

The Tamil and Malayalam versions of the Silpasastra are being used today as technical manuals by metal icon makers of Madras and Kerala (Krishna 1976). The Vedas, the Ramayana and Mahabharata also refer to casting art of bronze, silver and gold (Ruth

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1962). The Rig Veda refers to the word Ayas meaning different metals Viz. Syama, Ayas (iron) and Lohitaayas (Copper or bronze) (Ruth 1962). The casting method is known as the Madhuchista‐vidhanam. Madhuchista means bee’s wax. This method is referred to in detail in Sanskrit texts like Manasara, silparatna and Vishudharmotta (Ruth 1962). This method is well known as Cire‐Perdue or Lost‐wax method in the west (Sivaramamurti 1962).

The term Sthapathi is used in many of the ancient literatures which mean a chief craftsman who engage themselves in the making of religious icons and images. They belong to the Kammalar or Viswakarma community which practices various other crafts such as gold smiting, blacksmithing, copper smiting and stone carving (Krishnan 1976). In Tanjore District there are traditional families of the Viswakarma community who have a tradition of making bronze sculptures.In casting bronze, tin is alloyed to harden copper. Most bronzes in the antiquity are cast low‐tin bronzes with a tin content that is within the limit of formation of the face‐centered cubic (fcc) solid solution (Srinivasan 1998).

Aims and Method This paper is an attempt to integrate information from texts and from existing traditions of bronze casting in Tamil Nadu. The first author hails from the Viswakarma community in Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu. Hence documentation of the art and science of bronze sculpture technology were conducted in his family workshops at Tanjore and Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. An attempt is also made to look for archaeology signature indicative of bronze casting, based on the ethnographic study conducted here. The paper also attempt to investigate technical difference between modern and ancient bronze technology, to explore the iconometery and iconography of bronze sculpture studies.

Measurement of Bronze Sculptures Most icons are still cast by traditional ways well known as Cire‐Perdue. Mānasara is one of the ancient texts dealing with the lost‐wax technique. Chapter LXVIII deals with the process of lost‐wax methods termed Maduchchhista Vidhanam. Measurement plays an important role in Indian iconography. A fundamental concept in Indian cosmology has been the maxim that, to measure is it creates (Krishnan 1976; Ruth 1962). Measuring of form is also expressed as early as in the Rig Veda (Ruth 1962). This measuring of forms is still followed by all families traditionally involved in these practices. According to the textual analysis of measurement the point for each section has to be organized in a proper manner. Below are listed these prescribed units for arriving at the correct proportion of a god (Ruth 1962; Ganapati Sthapathi 2001).

The top of the headdress occurs as a system point only in the Pratimalaksanam, which includes the Usnisa of the image. The meaning of Tala is the length of palm. The system is based on a unit Tala which is the norm of measurement from where the hair‐line meets the forehead to the tip of the chin (Ganapathi Sthapathi 2001).


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Technical Process of Casting Bronze Sculpture The technique of casting by Cire‐perdue process can be divided into four principal stages, they are:

1. Model Making: Preparation of wax Wax model making (Fig. 1)

2. Mould Making: Preparation of fine clay and other materials (Fig. 2) De‐waxing (Fig. 3)

3. Melting and casting metals: Preparation of alloy Casting (Fig. 4)

4. Chiseling and finishing: Removing the buried clay (Fig. 5) Chiseling, engraving and fitting (Fig. 6) Polishing

The sculptor takes note of the Talas as prescribed in the Silpasastra (Sivaramamurti 1962). For image making the sculptor takes a coconut leaf cut into the required image height and folded the different length in proportion to the length of various parts of image based on the Tala.

Figure 1: Wax Model


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Figure 2: Preparation of Mould

Preparation of Wax Wax has to prepare by mixing pure bees wax, resin from the dammar and ground oil, in a proper portion of 5:5:1. Resin has to be ground in to powder and heated till a thick liquid forms. After this, it is added to the bees wax and stirred with a stick till it liquefies and is well mixed. After the wax melts, the liquid is filtered through a white cotton cloth into a tank containing cold water, thus allowing it to solidify. This is then used for making the wax model.

Preparation of the Wax Model In fashioning the wax model, parts of the image such as the head, body, legs, etc. are made separately by hand. These are then refined by warming them and shaping them using a knife and scraper. Finally the different finished parts of image are jointed together using heated iron tools. In the case of making a small bronze image, the


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pedestal is shaped as part of the wax model itself, but in case of large models, the pedestal has to be made separately.

Mould Making The method of moulding includes different types of moulding media and their preparation, for e.g. hard clay, semi hard clay and soft clay. In case of small image only three layers of clay are required but for large images more layers are required. The clay which is sourced from the river bed of the Kaveri is locally called ‘Vandal mann’. During the application of clay the wax model has to keep either on a piece of paper or on a white cloth.

• Soft‐clay: For preparation, four parts of well levitated which is used for making pottery and one part of ordinary clay are mixed.

• Preparation of very soft clay: Soft clay is mixed with cow dung until it becomes extremely soft.

Method of Moulding The fine clay has to be applied evenly on the wax mould. After it is dried, soft clay is applied over it and it is dried again. After it is fully dry, hard clay is applied and the same is bound with an iron strap. Clay is again applied over this until the mould is strong and satisfactory. Caution should be taken that the iron strap should pass through less important parts of the object.

De‐waxing the Mould After the mould is dry, it is placed over firewood and baked, till the wax melts completely and flows out. Once the wax is removed, the mould is removed from the fire and placed in a pit with the mouth facing upwards.

Figure 3: De‐Waxing

Melting and Casting Metals In south India five metals were used for the production of the idols which is called as “Panchaloha” (Kar 1952; Ruth 1962; Krishna 1976). These include a mixture of copper,


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silver, gold, brass and tin. The rules used by sculptor to estimate the weight of the alloy occupying the mould cavity, is that it should be normally 8 times the weight of the wax model. For melting the metal, coke or charcoal are used. When the metal and mould temperatures are proper for casting, the mould is placed horizontally in a slightly slanting position over bricks. Stone should be avoided for this process. While pouring the metal liquid into the mould, cup shaped bricks are held below to avoid mishaps. In order to avoid entry of impurities like charcoal floating on the surface of the molten metal, while pouring metal into the mould, a piece of knitted jute cloth covers the mouth of the crucible. After completing the casting process, the mould is allowed to cool for a day.

Figure 4: Casting

Removal of the Buried Clay The sculptor carefully removes burnt clay to extract the object. Iron rods and wires are removed and the sculptor removes all unwanted runners in the bronze idol/object. The image now is exactly that seen in the wax model. Details of the dress and ornaments as well as other final touches are essential to make the icon perfect in all the aspects.


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These aspects are added in the later stage. The smoothing of the image is done using the fine grade emery paper.

Figure 5: Removing the Buried Clay


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Figure 6: Chiseling and Engraving

According to the tradition, by way of polishing, the image is cleaned with tamarind and soap nut water and scrubbed with a copper brush.

There author could like describe illustrate the aspects of continuity of bronze casting tradition in Tamil Nadu, through his survey of workshops in Tamil Nadu and experimental work. This table shows the materials which is used through ages.

Wax Bee wax + Dammar Resin Tools for wax model Wooden stick Measurement scale Coconut leaf Clay Fine Clay from river bed

This all still the sculptors are using through ages without any change and this materials are basic requirement to make an image. This show continuity is preserved by our ancient and modern sculptures in Tamil Nadu.

Even author did experiment work on making sculpture these materials cannot be used by any other modern materials.

Archaeological Evidence of Bronze Casting The best evidence for casting actives at a site is the presence of a mould. Ancient mould types include open, terra‐cotta sand mould based on the Lost‐wax method. At present, no convincing example of any type of mould for casting metal has been reported from Indus Valley Civilization sites. The only published stone “mould” is from the site of Lothal, Gujarat where S.R. Rao has identified two grooved stones as an open mould for casting (Pigott 1999).

As far as the South India is concerned there is no direct archaeological evidence of furnace, crucible etc. for bronze casting from Pallava and Chola period because mainly the workshops are located near to the temple and towns and the bronze production work is continuously carried out from ancient times to present day from generation to generations. So it is difficult to find archaeological context for bronze casting in Tamil Nadu.


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Discussion It is of a great importance that India still preserves the traditional methods of bronze image making with various developments in techniques used. This continuity in traditional methods enables us to investigate variability in the development of these techniques which began with the Indus Valley Civilization and continued through the Pallava and Chola periods. In particular, the town of Tanjore was and still an important centre for manufacture of such images, right from the 10th and 13th centuries onward, when craftsman settled here under royal patronage of 9th century onwards. The technique and method applied by ancient sculptors are still practiced by their descendants. They have preserved traditions and take strenuous effort to produce images of great artistic merit and skill and in this practice they follow the style and convention laid down in the ancient texts to which they add their own creativity and imagination. In the context of archaeology, what is of great important is that studies of traditional procedures of bronze casting aids in interpreting such techniques from artefacts and features found in the archaeological record. It is of a great important in identifying specific types of instruments used for manufacture as also variations in the nature of furnaces and waste, etc. obtained.

Conclusion This paper encloses the experimental study of lost‐wax technique conduct by first author in his workshop in Tanjore district, Tamil Nadu. The way of preparing wax, casting etc. is basically same process but with little technical development. For example in ancient time the sculptors used rivers bed clay for soft moulding but in present time the sculptor are using Plaster. The change in the raw material or development of technique has many advantages and disadvantages. In the ancient times mostly locally available raw material was used but due to the modern technology knows the imported raw material is also used in the preparation of the images. Even though the some of the modern techniques are used in the idol manufacturing still the concept and production follows the traditional methods such as most part of south India is still using the traditional Lost‐wax techniques. The major contribution of this work is that it shows a continuation of bronze technology within the families and whole family is involved in the work.In the modern era of machine production this particular art of bronze production is dying out very fast and in few years the traditional manufacturing will come to an end. The major aim of this work is to make people aware of its legacy and importance and to create social awareness among the people and future generation as well as to keep the tradition of Lost‐wax techniques before it is lost.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank V. Balachandra and A. Gunasekaran, the workshop owners at Tanjore for sharing their information. I express special thanks to Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, Chennai/Pune. I take opportunity to thank D. Sankarlingam, S. Kalpana and Sakthi who helped throughout the preparation of this paper.


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