Indian Casting Mold with Lotus Motif

Green and flowery, this eight-sided slab blooms in reverse relief.

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. Octagonal block with a central boss ringed by pointed petal forms and smaller dots. Turquoise and rusty-red traces fill the recessed lines, and the plain edge shows a worn, matte surface. It is 0.5 inches high and 1.75 in diameter.

A garden pressed into a block.