How Rabindra Shakya is keeping the art of repoussé alive

Repoussé is a metalworking technique in which an artist shapes a design from the reverse side of a metal sheet. The method matters because it turns a flat surface into a raised, three-dimensional image without mass-producing the result. Every form depends on controlled handwork.

The maker places the metal so its back can be reached, then strikes selected areas with tools. Repeated blows gradually push those areas outward. The front develops the raised shapes, while the maker continues refining the surface from different sides. Shakya’s studio combines repoussé with chasing and tracing to define details.

This process is slow and exacting. A major piece can take almost two years, with five to six craftsmen working by hand. Shakya has practised the technique for more than 35 years. His work shows how a simple principle—hammering from behind—can preserve a demanding metalworking tradition for audiences worldwide.

Rabindra Shakya is a metalworker who has spent more than 35 years practising repoussé. His work matters beyond individual statues because he belongs to a family tradition passed down through generations. By continuing to make these objects, he keeps a specialised form of Nepalese metalwork active.

Shakya works with copper and precious metals. His studio does not mass-produce objects. Instead, a team of five to six craftsmen hammers, chases and traces each major piece by hand. That shared, detailed process allows the studio to complete complex designs while preserving the skill involved in making them.

His statues have reached private collections, cultural institutions and exhibitions around the world. They have been shown in Germany, China and the Netherlands. Shakya’s practice therefore connects family knowledge with a wider public. His continuing work gives Nepal’s metalwork tradition a visible place in international cultural spaces.

A single major repoussé piece from Shakya’s studio can take almost two years to finish. That timeline reveals the scale of the craft’s demands. These works are not quick decorative products; they require sustained attention across a long period.

The studio may involve five to six craftsmen on one piece. They hammer the metal, chase its surfaces and trace the design by hand. Each person contributes to building and refining the image. The work depends on repeated, controlled actions rather than a single production step, so progress is gradual.

This slow process is central to Shakya’s approach. He does not run a mass-production operation. Instead, the extended timeline supports detailed craftsmanship and preserves the human skill behind each statue. Because the finished pieces enter private collections, cultural institutions and international exhibitions, the time invested also helps present Nepalese metalwork to audiences beyond Nepal.

Hammering, chasing and tracing are hand techniques used to shape and refine a metal design. In repoussé, hammering from the back creates raised forms. These techniques matter because detailed images cannot be completed by one broad strike; they require many controlled adjustments.

The article names all three steps but does not define them separately. In established metalworking practice, chasing works from the front to sharpen relief and surface details, while tracing marks or clarifies lines and borders. Hammering establishes the form, chasing models it, and tracing helps define its visual structure. The actions are repeated carefully across the piece.

Shakya’s team uses these methods by hand, with five to six craftsmen contributing to major works. Their combined labour helps explain why one piece may take almost two years. The techniques keep the result connected to individual skill, rather than factory production, and help carry Nepal’s metalwork tradition into collections and exhibitions worldwide.

The article presents repoussé as a centuries-old craft in Nepal. Its importance comes from continuity: the technique has survived through knowledge passed from one generation of Shakya’s family to the next. That family connection places today’s work within a much longer metalworking tradition.

The source gives no specific founding date, historical event or account of the craft’s early development. It does establish that Shakya works with copper and precious metals and has practised repoussé for more than 35 years. His studio continues the tradition through handwork, with craftsmen hammering, chasing and tracing designs.

Shakya’s practice shows the tradition remains active rather than merely historical. His statues are held in private collections and cultural institutions, and appear in exhibitions in Germany, China and the Netherlands. These public and private settings give the inherited skill new visibility while connecting Nepal’s longstanding metalwork with audiences around the world.

When skilled makers continue a traditional craft, they keep its techniques in active use rather than allowing them to disappear from practice. Shakya’s work matters because it links family knowledge with present-day production. His more than 35 years of practice help maintain repoussé as a living Nepalese metalworking tradition.

His studio makes major pieces through handwork, not mass production. Five to six craftsmen may spend almost two years hammering, chasing and tracing one work. The finished statues carry the results of that concentrated labour into private collections, cultural institutions and exhibitions. Their movement gives the craft a wider audience.

The article identifies international visibility as part of Shakya’s contribution. His statues have appeared in Germany, China and the Netherlands. Continued practice and display can therefore connect Nepal’s metalwork tradition with people elsewhere, while showing why patience, family knowledge and skilled hands remain important to its future.

Copper and many precious metals can be shaped because they are malleable and ductile. In general, their atoms can shift under pressure while the material remains continuous. This lets a craftsperson change a sheet’s form instead of causing it to snap immediately. The article identifies copper and precious metals as Shakya’s materials but does not explain their physical properties.

During repoussé, repeated blows apply small amounts of force. Hammering from the back gradually pushes selected areas outward, creating raised relief. The maker controls the direction and strength of the strikes. Professional metalworkers may also manage work hardening by reshaping or softening the metal when needed, though the article does not describe that step.

The result depends on patience and control, not force alone. Shakya’s major pieces take almost two years, and five to six craftsmen may work on them. Their careful process turns workable metal into detailed statues while preserving the hand skills behind Nepal’s traditional craft.