Tucked away into a remote corner of Rajasthan is a colony of Gaduliya Lohars, who've been living there for over 100 years now. Nomads by choice, most of the members of the Gaduliya Lohar tribe still travel and refuse to settle down in one place. However, some, like Hazari Lal's family, have settled on the outskirts of cities, towns and villages.
The hill artisans at Gangtok make stunning statues of lord Buddha in almost all the sizes. These are bronze and brass images and are found in the Buddhist monasteries. Other metal items include domestic items and ceremonial use items such as plates, bowls, and variety of souvenirs.
A wide variety of lamps are used during rituals in homes and temples of Tamil Nadu. The deepam or lamp is the most noteworthy of the metalware made and the type of lamps include aarthi/votive lamps, deepalakshmi, hand lamps and chain lamps. Standing lamps, called kuthu-vilakku, on pedestals with as many as four to five tiers comprise of a round slim-wicked bowl placed atop a pedestal and is used at all ceremonial occasions. It is generally decorated with the hamsa/ mythical swan.
The creation of the Tanjore metal plate is credited to Raja Serfoji II (1797-1832), the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur (or Tanjore), who asked his royal artisans to create an object that would reflect the glory of his kingdom. Silver, brass, and copper are encrusted on to each other to create this stunning piece of art. The effect of silver in high relief on the reddish copper ground is unusual and striking. Artisans of the Vishwakarma community follow this hereditary profession in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu).
The southern State of India, Tamil Nadu, is the foremost centre for bronze casting where images cast conform to the Pallava, Chola, Pandyan and Nayaka periods. The Stapathis or artisans claim direct descent from Vishwakarma, the divine architect. Icon making itself is a labourious, concentrated, time-consuming job requiring a number of tools with high level of skill especially during the icon making process involving the lost wax or cire perdue method.
Vandal, a light brown sand is found on the banks of the river Cauvery in Nachiarcoil, a district in Thanjavur. This sand is ideally suited for making moulds., The bell-metal workers of the state have now switched to brass ware due to the growing scarcity of copper. Most of the articles cast are vases in different shapes and colours, tumblers, water containers, festooned spittoons, food cases, bells, candle stands, a great variety of lamps and picnic carriers. A few items like tumblers, food cases and milk containers are molded in bell metal while the rest are in brass. The trademark of Nachiarcoil is the famous jar with a cashew-nut design.
Craftsmen also make melodic bells coated in intricate designs of copper and brass, which were once used for communication among shepherds.