Skip to content

Your Basket (0)

View basket

Your basket is empty

Continue shopping
img
Share the Gift Statue
This statuette is handcrafted using the ancient lost wax method of casting bronze. Originating in the Middle East in the ninth century, lost wax is one of the first known methods of working with molten metal. The artisan sculpts wax, then coats it with clay and allows it to dry. Molten bronze is poured into the mold, melting the wax and allowing liquid bronze to fill the shape. After the metal cools, the artisan breaks the clay, revealing a one-of-a-kind figure.

HANDCRAFTED IN BURKINA FASO

  • Bronze
  • 3Wx9H inches
  • Handcrafted in Burkina Faso

SKU: 1801070

THE MAKERS

Atelier de Bronze Bonkoungou et Frère specializes in the traditional technique of lost wax bronze casting. The workshop leader, Issouf Bonkoungou learned the ancient technique from his father and from a retired master artisan by the name of Sissao Hamidou whom Ten Thousand Villages began purchasing from in 1996. Mr. Hamidou was instrumental in the formation of the first artisan enterprise for bronze casting in the area, Antelier de Formation et de Promotion des Artisans in 2013 with aid from MCC Burkina Faso, a relief, development and peace agency of the North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ. He continued training artisans in the craft and selling lost wax statues to Ten Thousand Villages until his retirement in 2021 when he passed the secure buying relationship on to Mr. Bonkoungou and Atelier de Bronze Bonkoungou. Ten Thousand Villages is the only advanced payment, bulk order buyer for Mr. Bonkoungou’s family and dozen other craftspeople working with him—fair trade has made a living wage possible in this marginalized area for more than two decades.
img
img

Welcome to our global maker-to-market movement where, together with 20,000 artisans, we ignite social change. We create opportunities for individuals, families, and communities in developing countries to thrive through strong relationships, fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable practices.

Tenthousandvillages.com