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This vast collection of south Indian sculpture brings the world’s greatest artistic tradition to you. We offer sculpture in a variety of materials, each with their own unique legacy in south India. That legacy gives even deeper meaning to the pieces available at Exotic India.
Much of south Indian sculpture is made using a lost-wax process. Here, artisans create a model using wax. This can be easily molded by heating metal tools that sculpt the shape, like a hot knife through butter. Because the wax is so malleable, the level of intricacy in the details is unsurpassed. Pieces of this wax sculpture are then placed in a bed of clay, where a plaster mold can be painted on the exposed side. Slowly, an artisan builds up the mold. Once completed, the mold is given a layer of wax. This recreates the original statue but with a hollow core, that is then filled with sand and plaster, and plaster is added to the exterior. That final mold is then filled with bronze.
Other statues are made using wood. Wooden sculpture was long the preferred material in southern India. In fact, stone sculpture took a very long time to arrive, especially compared to nearby regions. Experts believe the long held dominance of wood in south India sculpture gave rise to many of the preferred forms — like strong vertical orientation. It also explains, in part, how much of the material culture of south India has not survived as well as regions to the north. That deeply embedded tradition of wood sculpture makes our selection even that much more authentic to the region.
Our stone statuary also represents a point in the development of south Indian sculpture. The impressive achievements in this material again points to the supreme elegance and sophistication of south Indian sculptures.
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