Nidra Krishna

Nidra Krishna is the Finest Sculpture made of Bronze with utmost precision. It is the first sculpture from sculptor Vineesh Vijayan from his “Sree Krishna Series”. Masterpiece is made of polymer clay and  his experienced technical team finely crafted the sculpture into Bronze. Great effort was laid into the minutest details in labouring the birth of the “just born Bala-Krishna” displaying the innocence and cuteness of the baby while retaining the significant subtle smile on His face. The artist’s expertise is further demonstrated by the realistic intricate weaving of the ordinary bamboo basket where the Magnificent and Omnipotent Krishna lies with all grace and charm.

Krishna is the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Extra-Ordinary, Purushotham is born to the ordinary human tribe, Vasudeva, and his wife Devaki in a prison cell. When the Divine was born, the dark prison room became well lighted with the aura of the New Birth.Vasudeva is celestially guided to transfer the newborn Krishna to his friend, Nanda, the head of Gopa Tribe and his wife Yashodha at Gokul to save him from his maternal uncle Kamsa. Vasudeva carries Krishna in a basket and crosses the Yamuna River facing the storm and torrential rain to reach Gokul. When the Avatar was born, Vasudeva is supernaturally freed from his prison chains, he carried the sleeping Bala-Krishna in a basket through the torrential rains and thunder, crossed the river Yamuna which was in the most ferocious mode.

It is to be understood that when Krishna consciousness is born within any human -being, he will be still and serene as the “Nidra Krishna”  even when life throws at one any unexpected torrential events or unpleasant circumstances as one crosses the river of his life.Krishna consciousness lets him remain calm with a smile making one realize that these events are fleeting along with time. It reminds him to be detached with these events yet inspires him to be a witness to all what he is passing through his river of life, letting him cross the journey safely.

Vineesh, the artist, has tried to conceive the idea of the above “Krishna consciousness” through his Nidra Krishna lying so calmly and as light as a peacock feather which is seen well placed near the baby, in an ordinary but skillfully weaved basket while the peacock feather tied to his hair lock signifies his skill to win any opponent. Vineesh has tried to explore his personal interest in sculpting fine facial expressions in this sculpture.

Nidra Krishna displays a bare amount of ornaments to elicit one’s focus mainly on the emotion of the baby rather than the ornamental embellishments.

It took almost sixty (60) days to sculpt the masterpiece using polymer clay, building the armature, setting the initial posture and expression of the original sculpture, defining the major features, detailing the attributes and refining it for the final clay model.

To make the wax model of the original sculpture, a silicone rubber mould was made from the original clay model without losing any of the micro detailing and expression of the model to create Nidra Krishna. Hot wax was poured into the hollow mould and allowed through the chasing wax process and resting the same to set.

Next, to assemble the ceramic mould for the Bronze, the wax model underwent the casting process by dipping into a ceramic slurry for building up the ceramic shell and in turn went through “lost wax process” leaving a hard-hollow ceramic shell. The ceramic shell was intensely tested for its durability at various levels and then alone it is passed to the next stage.

Bronze is poured into the hot ceramic shell and allowed to cool and settle. Later, the ceramic mould was chiselled and smashed away. Vineesh’s experienced technical team then had to meticulously work on the final Bronze finish of the Masterpiece with all care and diligence. The product is now ready for patination.

The Original Sculpture of the Nidra Krishan mounted in a basket, has a uniform patina with original bronze colour giving it a unique antique finish. The Sculpture is given a perfect wax coating for long-lasting use.

How to take care of the Sculpture: The Do’s and Don’ts

For prolonged patina finish and to enjoy the complete beauty and tranquility of the Masterpiece Sculpture, we advise you to follow the instructions below.

          Do’s

• It is advisable to dust it periodically with a soft clean cloth or brush.
•  If  accidentally any liquid(milk, tea, coffee, etc.) is spilled on the sculpture that may react with the metal surface, immediately use a piece of cloth to wipe as quick as possible and use warm water to clean any residual allowing it to dry soon.
• Use a piece of cloth or gloves while lifting the Sculpture. This prevents the wax coating being tampered and thereby guaranteeing further longevity of the patina finish                                                                                                                                              Don’ts                                                                                                
• No abhishekams are encouraged by pouring milk, water, oil, curd, honey, or any other liquids. It will damage the wax coating as the metal will be exposed to acidic contents in the liquids causing oxidation of metal resulting in an undesired colour change of the surface finish.                                                               
• Do not touch the bronze sculpture frequently with bare hands,as the thin layer of wax gets wiped off. The sweat from the hands are acidic which will react with the metal surface and changes the patina of the Sculpture.                          
• This sculpture being an indoor exhibit should not be kept under directsunlight for a long period (more than a week or month).Such long exposure will affect the antique finish of the metal and it may be affected by the ultraviolet rays from the sun.