A Historical Perspective

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Bronze and The Great Civilizations of the World

The great civilizations of the old world used bronze for their art work and also for weapons that had edges such as swords and knives.  The Greeks were the first civilization to scale life-size figures.  

Due to deterioration, however, only a few cast works from this time period exist that can be considered in good condition.  The seawater-preserved bronze, now called "The Victorious Athlete" is one of the earlier cast works that still exists. 

But even then, much effort has been expended in order to bring this work up to the standards required for museum display.  

When compared to the Greek cast works, moreover, many more Roman bronze statues have survived and are on display in the various museums throughout the world.

Bronze is the Most Popular Metal for Cast Metal Sculptures

It can be documented that bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures.  In fact, a cast-metal sculpture made from bronze is many times referred to as "a bronze." 

With the introduction of bronze alloys, very fine details can be achieved with the molds. 

When compared to different stone materials, such as marble, the strength and lack of brittleness of bronze is a clear advantage when figures in action are to be created.  

From an artistic perspective, it is unfortunate that bronze sculptures have been devalued during wartime to such an extent that they have either been remelted to make weapons or to construct new sculptures to venerate the victors.  This can be substantiated by the much larger population of contemporary stone and ceramic sculptures that have survived over time.  

The manufacture of bronze sculptures is highly skilled work that employs a number of different casting processes such as lost-wax casting, (and the more modern derivative known as "ceramic shell casting"), centrifugal casting, and sandcasting. 

The Lost-Wax Casting Method

With the relatively well-known lost-wax casting method, the artist usually starts with a full-sized clay model of the sculpture.  A mold is made from the clay pattern and then a wax is cast from the mold. The wax is then put in another mold or shell and then heated in a kiln until the wax runs out.  The investment is then filled with molten bronze.

Another type of sculptural metal art to use bronze is known as "ormolou."  Ormolou is a finely cast soft bronze that is coated with gold that results in a matt gold finish.  Ormolou was popularized in 18th century France with the production of wall sconces, clocks, garnitures, and inkstands.  

Ormolou products can typically be identified by two characteristics:  first, by their matt gold finish and second, by the clear ring when tapped.  This second characteristic indicates the underlying bronze as compared with cheaper metal alloys such as spelter or pewter.

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