komegata　込型

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Sometimes read komigata. Also warikomegata 割込型. A sectioned mould. A type of mould used in metal casting, or the method of casting which used this mould. First a model of the desired object was made. This could be of wood, clay, plaster, or other material. The model was then covered with a layer of very fine clay or plaster. As the technique developed a substance known as kamisusa 紙すさ was used. This consisted of clay mixed with boiled seaweed juice and small pieces of handmade paper *washi 和紙 made of mulberry fibres. When this clay or kamisusa layer had dried it was removed from the model in small pieces. These fragments were then reassembled to form the hollow mould, komegata, which was used for casting. In the casting process this was often used in conjunction with an inner core *nakago 中型. The special feature of komegata casting was that since the mould was made from a very fine clay mixture applied directly to the model, extremely delicate details could be reproduced. Also, as the mould was removed in fragments, it was not necessary to destroy the original model, which could be preserved and used for further casting. Some studies suggest that a method resembling komegata was used in Han dynasty China, but the evidence for this remains unclear. In Japan the technique was used from the middle of the Meiji period.

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