Virtually all Indian casting in bronze is done using the cire perdue (lost wax) process. No mould survives the process, so each piece is unique. In southern India, there are several traditions of casting that have remained unchanged over the last thousand years. The bronze casters of Tanjore District in Tamilnadu, working with formulas and tools handed down by their ancestors in the tenth century, have kept alive the mystery and quality of an art form that is a foundation of India's artistic reputation.