Avalokitesvara

"Opening the Eyes"

SACRED COLOURS

Buddhist Art for the 21st Century

Avalokiteśvara

Gilt finished in Platinum, 23 karat Red Gold, 18 karat Green Gold and Fine Gold. Garnet gemstones represent the jewellery typically worn by the bodhisattva. Formed in copper repoussé, with the hands cast from wax models.

Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. There are few techniques that offer such diversity of expression while still being relatively economical. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. It is also known as embossing which uses pre-formed dies and punches.

While repoussé is used to work on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design on the front, chasing is used to refine the design on the front of the work by sinking the metal.There is no loss of metal in the process, as it is stretched and the surface remains continuous. The process is relatively slow, but a maximum of form is achieved, with one continuous surface of sheet metal of essentially the same thickness. Direct contact of the tools used is usually visible in the result, a condition not always apparent in other techniques, where all evidence of the working method is eliminated.

The techniques of repoussé have been used widely since antiquity, with gold and silver for fine detailed work and with copper, tin, and bronze for larger sculptures.

for more repoussé - click here