Indian Casting Mold with Lotus Motif

Round block with ring after ring of tiny stamped patterns around a lotus-like center.

This bronze casting mold with lotus motif is from India, and dates to the early 20th century. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and it has been used for tools, sculpture and casting forms in South Asia for thousands of years. Disc-shaped piece with a raised, petaled rosette in the middle, surrounded by tight concentric bands of dots and wavy lines. The surface is a muted olive gold with some darker spots. It is 0.25 inches high and 1.5 in diameter.

Rings within rings, all of them tidy.