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Masterpiece Gopal Krishna with Cows 36"
Item # 3b11
- Materials: Lost Wax Method Ice brass, Polished Bronze, Pewter, Bronze, & Copper
- Total Height Including Base: 36 inches
- Figure Height: 20 inches
- Base Width & Depth: 26 x 16 inches
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Stunning Krishna cast from 4 seperate metals
- Once in a life time, one of a kind statue!
- A masterpiece worthy of the Chola kings!
Description
Krishna is superb, a true modern masterpiece of Hindu art! Cast using 4 separate metals in one statue, Krishna is technological bronze casting accomplishment as well as an aesthetic masterwork.
Krishna is captured in His classic pose of playing the flute enchanting all the cow herders' daughters with his charisma and melodies. Krishna's beautiful face has a slight smile on his lips, as if he knows that he is in some way up to mischief! No detail is spared on his cloths and jewelry. All of his jewels are perfectly carved. He wears flower bud earrings. He has tassels dangling from his arms, his headdress that curl behind his ears, tassels coming off his shoulders with a mango shape drop on the end and three sets of tassels that form a type of skirt around his legs. His jewelry is magnificent. He wears bracelets, armlets, and anklets on every appendage with each jewel created and carved separately. Even the bangle on his right arm is free spinning! He has one yali decoration on his headdress and another as a decoration on his belt. Yalis are mythical animals that are a mix of an elephant, lion and crocodile. The yali faced flute has a hanging bell at the end of it. The golden color of the jewels and decorations contrast perfectly to Krishna's copper skin.
Krishna is playing beneath an ornate and menacing form of Mahakala or "great time". Time is seen as all conquering because in the end time devours all things. Two yalis are carved into the spirals coming from Mahakala's mouth. The arch is carved with tendril, spiraling designs. On the outer edge are spade shaped designs that are angled outwards. The arch comes to a stop at two columns on either side of Krishna that takes on the appearance of the outside of a Hindu temple. There are two decorative spouts on either side of the midpoint of the arch that look to have a droplet of water coming out of them just like in south Indian Dravidian architecture used in the building of temples. Below the spouts on both sides are two larger yalis up on two legs with their trunks entwined with a smaller elephant underneath them. Two of Shiva's dwarfs or gana appear to have the weight of the arch on their shoulders with one hand supporting the arch and the other hand held out. The small gana wear earrings and have enormous bellies.
The arch is connected to a beautiful stand with miniature copper columns on each of the corners and silver carved friezes between the columns. On top of the stand is a beautiful, silver, double lotus base that Krishna is standing on.
Around Krishna are 4 cows and one bull in various forms of repose that can be arranged around Krishna. They graze upon a large copper platform.
Defining Features of the Statue: The Krishna is made from multiple castings and in separate parts. Ice brass, bronze, German silver or pewter and pure copper. A wax mold must be made for each metal. The casting process is very difficult because each metal has a different melting point the artist must be careful not to have the fire too hot so that the previously casted metal could melt. The extremely difficult casting technique was pioneered by the Bronze Creative. Others have tried to copy the technique with very little success.
Here is a list of attributes of the sculpture and the metal they are made from:
Krishna's body is made from copper. His halo and jewels and decorations are made from ice brass. The double lotus base is German silver. His flute is made from ice brass.
The arch is made from copper. The two decorative spouts are ice brass. The two gana supporting the sides of the sculpture are bronze.
The stand that Krishna stands upon is made from pure copper and German silver.
One cow is bronze, one is German silver and another is ice brass. Two cows are a made to look like milk cows and are part copper and part German silver.
The base is one large piece of copper.
