Tradition · metal casting tradition · Nepal
Newar lost-wax and repoussé metalwork, Patan
Also known as Newar metalwork, Patan repousse, Aniko, Sakya bronze casters
The Sakya and Vajracharya workshops of Patan have cast and beaten gilt-copper images for Himalayan Buddhism for over a thousand years, by lost wax for figures and repoussé for torana and roof ornament. Tibetan monasteries commissioned from them for centuries, and the style is the standard for Himalayan bronzes.
- Function
- Trade & production
- Confidence
- Not assessed
- Location
- 27.673, 85.325
Worth knowing
Aniko, a Newar artist from the valley, was sent to the Yuan court in the thirteenth century, became the head of imperial artisans in Beijing and is credited with the White Stupa there. The workshops that trained him are still working in the same lanes of Patan.
Connections (1)
- Craft tradition ofPatan Durbar Square
Patan's metalworking courtyards are the source of the Himalayan gilt-copper image. The Sakya and Vajracharya families have cast and beaten for Tibetan and Newar patrons for a thousand years, and Aniko, a Newar artist from these lanes, went to the Yuan court in the thirteenth century, became head of imperial artisans in Beijing and is credited with the White Stupa there.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Newar art”. Mary Slusser, Nepal Mandala (1982); Anning Jing, “The Portraits of Khubilai Khan and Chabi by Anige”, Artibus Asiae (1994).
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