A pair of hand-cast brass elephants, made using Dhokra, a lost-wax technique that is more than 4,000 years old. Each elephant raises its trunk and holds a lotus bud, a traditional sign of good fortune. They suit a bookshelf, mantel or puja corner.

Some objects carry a home’s luck. This pair of elephants is cast in brass by hand, using Dhokra, one of the oldest metal-casting traditions in the world. The method is the same one behind the bronze Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro.

To make each piece, the artisan first shapes a model from clay and beeswax. Every detail is then built up by hand from fine threads of wax: the coiled saddle cloth, the beaded jhool, the ridged legs. The model is covered in clay and fired, so the wax melts away. Molten brass is poured into the space it leaves. The mould is then broken, so no two pieces can ever come out the same. Expect small variations in size, texture and finish. Those differences show that a person made it, not a machine.