Metal Casting in Foumban, Cameroon, Africa

Lost wax casting has been done for centuries in Africa. Bronze, brass, and silver are cast in Foumban, Cameroon.

Bronze statue in front of the Sultan's Palace.	Wax is applied to a clay core.	Clay covers the wax figure.	Wax rods are added to create channels for the metal.

More clay is added to complete the mold.	Ismaila hand- pumps bellows to heat the molds in a kiln. The wax melts out, then metal is poured into the hot mold. The mold is then broken off to reveal the cast metal.	The surface of the piece is refined with a file.

For more information or to purchase any of these items, please contact Putuench Ismaila at B.P. 10, Foumban, Cameroon, or call him at (from the US 011-237) 967-9971 or 348-2415 or contact Abdou Mfopa.
Clay core.	Wax covers clay core, then more clay is added.	Ismaila with a finished metal mask.	Maternity, Ismaila	Trophies by Ismaila

Links:
Art-Batik of Adehoumi Sikirou Shola
Bark Pictures of Claude Ngaha
Dschang Handicraft Center
Gîtes Ruraux de l'Ouest
Wood Carving in Foumban
Pottery of Western Cameroon
Cameroonian beadworking
Tapestry Crochet in Cameroon
Lost Wax Casting in Ghana
Cameroonian Basket Maker, Fokam Goufo Buhler
Cameroonian Author, Mih John Fung
Cameroonian Painter, Hilarion Wirdzeka Faison
Nigerian Painter, Elcarver Rotimi Agbola
Blacksmithing in Andalucia, Spain
Metal Spinning in Seville, Spain
Silversmithing in Andalucia, Spain
Tinworking in Mexico 
The Kris in Java and Bali, Indonesia
Filigree in Java, Indonesia
Tapestry Crochet Home Page

Recommended books:
Hans Knopfli has written the best books I have ever read about the crafts of Cameroon. Please go to his web page at https://www.kamerun.ch/home-en.html for more information about them.

Web page, photographs, and text by Carol Ventura in 2001. Please look at Carol's home page to see more about crafts around the world.