As the name suggests, the lost-wax technique involves the creation of a solid or hollow replica of wax or a wax-like substance, of the image to be cast. The wax from this replica is melted and allowed to flow out, leaving a void to be later filled in by molten metal. Unlike reusable moulds of modern casting technology, the lost-wax method requires each metal image to be created afresh from a different mould so that no two images can ever be identical. The technique of solid casting is predominant in the South, mainly in Tamil Nadu (Swamimalai in Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Chingalpet and Salem), Bangalore and Mysore in Karnataka, Palghat in Kerala and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, that of “hollow” casting (in which case an inner clay mould is required) is largely prevalent in Central and Eastern India.