Bronze flower vessel with openwork design cast in cire perdue method.

Lost-wax casting

In lost-wax casting (rōgata), a wax model is coated with a refractory of sand and clay to produce a mold. The mold is then heated until the wax melts out of it. Next, molten metal is poured into the mold. Once the metal has cooled, the mold is broken open. By melting away the wax, a work of metal may be produced in the exact form of the original wax model.