Ashtadhatu
'Ashtadhatu' is an alloy of eight metals, viz. gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, zinc, iron and antimony, which gives desired strength, colour, lustre and even echoing melodious sound to the objects when mixed in proper proportion. The 'lost-wax-process' is the technique used for casting metal images in which the original figure is made in wax, further covered with a coat of special clay with perforations at the top and bottom. The molten metal is poured from top and the wax gets drained from the lower opening. The clay coat is broken after cooling and the metal image is taken out, which is further chiselled and embellished with hand tools for giving it a final touch.
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