National Awardee · Since 1980s
Ravindran Sthapathy
Bronze and Panchaloha master sculptor of Mamallapuram. Founder of Navajeevan Metal Sculptors — four decades of sacred icons, monumental public bronze, and commissions across three continents.
40+
Years of practice
21.5 ft
Largest single-piece cast
135+
Bronzes for a German museum
11
National & state honours
01 · About the sculptor
A living lineage of Dravidian bronze, carried into monumental scale.
National Awardee Sthapathy R. Ravindran stands among the foremost master sculptors of contemporary India. Born and rooted in Mamallapuram — the UNESCO-recognised cradle of Dravidian stone and metal sculpture — he has devoted more than four decades to the living tradition of bronze and Panchaloha casting.
His studio, Navajeevan Metal Sculptors, bridges classical Shilpa Shastra with the demands of large-scale public and sacred art. From a 21.5-foot Dhanvantari cast as a single seamless piece in forty days, to more than 135 bronzes produced over twelve years for the Till Eulenspiegel Museum in Germany, his work spans the sacred and the secular, the intimate and the monumental.
His sculptures have been inaugurated by a Prime Minister, a Vice President, Chief Ministers and religious leaders of international standing, and stand in temples, university campuses, museums and public plazas across India, Europe and Asia. He is equally a teacher — training generations of sculptors and hosting international students in Mamallapuram.
- Studio
- Navajeevan Metal Sculptors
- Location
- Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
- Specialisation
- Bronze & Panchaloha Sculpture, Temple Icons, Monumental Public Art
- Experience
- Over 40 years (since the early 1980s)
- Education
- Diploma in Metal Sculpture, Government College of Architecture & Sculpture, Mamallapuram (1989)
- Heritage training
- Muradabad engraving, Poompuhar / Nachiarkoil (1980–81)
Studio film
The work in motion.
A slideshow of commissions, ceremonies and installations from the Navajeevan Metal Sculptors archive.
03 · Technical mastery
Every stage of the work, from wax to installation.
Modelling & Fabrication
- —Lost-wax (cire perdue) wax modelling
- —Clay modelling — concept to full scale
- —Die, mould and pattern making
- —Stone and wood craftsmanship
- —Traditional blacksmithing
Casting & Moulding
- —Lost-wax casting, traditional and large-scale
- —Sand and investment casting
- —Rubber, silicone, fibreglass and plaster moulds
- —Single-piece casts up to 4,500 kg
Metals & Alloys
- —Bronze
- —Panchaloha — gold, silver, copper, zinc, iron
- —Brass and bell metal (Vengalam)
- —Gold and silver ornamental work
Iconography & Classical Knowledge
- —Shilpa Shastra treatises
- —Agama texts for temple ritual and iconography
- —Talam proportion systems
- —Antiquity analysis and authentication
04 · Awards & honours
India's highest craft recognition, and two decades of state honours.
- 2021–22Kalai Chemmal
- 2018Kalai Methagu Vithagar, Thiruvadisoolam
- 2017 & 2018State Art & Culture Award
- 2016–17Tamil Nadu State Award, Handicraft Board (Poompuhar)
- 2016State Award (Art & Culture)
- 2016National Award — Ministry of Textiles, Government of India
- 2013Sthapati Ratna, Shravanabelagola
- 2013National Merit Award
- 2002Lalit Kala Akademi State Award
- 1999State-to-National Selection for the National Award
- 1998Lalit Kala Akademi State Award
- 1986–89Intra-College Competition Scholarships, three consecutive years
04b · Press & publications
Featured in newspapers, magazines and international art books.
The Sunday Times of India · Special
All That Glitters Is Gold At Yadadri
Feature on the gold-plated Vimanam and kalashams of the renovated Yadadri temple, quoting Ravindran Sthapathy as the gold-plating expert leading the work.
The Times of India · Sunday Best
Sculpting by the Sea
European artists travel to Mamallapuram to learn stone, wood and metal craft from the Sthapathis of the coast.
Multi-lingual press · Karnataka & Tamil Nadu
Grand procession sets tone for Mastakabhisheka
Coverage of the ceremonial procession and installation works associated with the Bahubali Mastakabhisheka.
Magazines & newspapers · India
Pegasus, temple towers & monumental commissions
Composite of features on the MGR Memorial Pegasus, temple gopurams, Panchaloha icons and consecration ceremonies.
Indien: Volks- und Stammeskunst · Germany
Einführung — Menschen, Kunst und Handwerk
German art book introduction crediting Ravindran Sthapathy of Tamil Nadu as the master who taught the author the ancient lost-wax bronze casting technique.
Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim · 1997
Till Eulenspiegel — Gerhard Marek
Exhibition catalogue Götterwelt Indiens — traditional Indian bronze art, with acknowledgements to Ravindran Sthapathy for the cast bronzes shown.
05 · The studio
Navajeevan Metal Sculptors — an atelier and a knowledge-keeping house.
The studio operates from Mamallapuram, a centre of Dravidian sculpture for over 1,500 years. It functions as a production atelier and a knowledge-preservation centre at once — combining hereditary craft method with the logistics required for government and institutional commissions, sustaining teams of up to thirty sculptors and partnerships lasting more than a decade.
- Maximum team size
- 30+ sculptors
- Production scale
- Figurines to 21.5-ft single-piece casts
- Weight capacity
- Up to 4,500 kg single-piece
- Heritage processes
- Lost-wax, sand, investment, shell-mould, Muradabad engraving
- Metals handled
- Bronze, Panchaloha, brass, bell metal, gold, silver
- International reach
- Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Ireland and beyond
06 · Across the world
Temple and cultural commissions on five continents.
- ◆Sri Lanka — Panchaloha Vigrahas for 30–40 Hindu temples
- ◆Singapore — Sri Perumal Temple: 110 kg silver sanctum door and Panchaloha deities
- ◆Indonesia — Bhadrakali Amman Temple: silver Kavasam, Kireedam, Thiruvachi and jewellery
- ◆South Africa — Karumariamman Temple, Durban: 27 Panchaloha deities
- ◆Canada — Shiva Vishnu Temple: silver Kavasam and Panchaloha deities
- ◆France — Sri Swarna Lingeswarar Temple, Paris; 30+ artists trained in lost-wax casting
- ◆Spain (Ibiza) — intensive lost-wax training for 30 European artists
- ◆Japan — bronzes in private collections and museums, Osaka (1993–1997)
- ◆Czech Republic & Sweden — portrait and contemporary bronzes with Peter Kavan
- ◆Russia, Ukraine & Romania — 20–30 international artists trained annually since 2016
- ◆Mauritius — Parasakthi and Kandasamy Temples: 2 Kodimarams, 30 Panchaloha deities
- ◆Malaysia — Petaling Estate Mahamariamman, Brickfields Kandasamy and Bangsar Ramalingeswarar Temples
- ◆Ireland — bronze horse and dog sculptures for private patrons
07 · Commissions & enquiries
Sacred icons, monuments and restorations — commissioned worldwide.
Write to the studio with your project, scale and timeline.
bronzesculptors@gmail.comNavajeevan Metal Sculptors, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India