Indian Bronze Mold for Amulet

Two small standing figures, patchy with green, on a broad little rectangle.

This bronze mold for casting or pressing amulets is from India, and dates to the early 20th century. The design on a mold is cut in reverse, so the finished impression reads the right way round only once it has been taken from the mold. Horizontal rectangular plate in worn gold-gray with two slender standing figures pressed into the surface, one holding an object upright. Turquoise patches cluster around the figures and across the top edge, and the surface has a dull, rubbed texture. It is 1.5 inches wide, 1 deep and 0.25 high.

Two tiny figures, entirely at ease with their patina.