A little Background about
Bronze
Bronze is a mixture of copper and zinc. Before 4,000 B.C., artisans had worked
with pure copper, But, the addition of a small amount of tin (about 3 percent of
the mixture) produces a much stronger metal with a beautiful natural luster.
Ancient artisans were quick to adopt the innovative metallurgy that grew to be
so widespread it launched a new era called the Bronze Age, circa 3500-1200 B.C.
Due to its durability, strength,
workability, and luster early culture artisans adopted bronze as their preferred
choice for objects that needed to be durable, functional, and beautiful. Bronze
has lasted through the millennium as the standard for quality and fine value.
Unlike many other casting mediums
bronze increases in value
as it ages.
Some of the oldest and finest examples
date from the 14th century B.C., made by artisans in China. Scholars credit the
Chinese with developing the “lost wax” process that made it possible to cast
complex works of art. At the same time the Etruscans were developing new methods
to work with the metal, as did the Romans. The many attributes of bronze
quickly flowed to other ancient civilizations until it became a staple of
society. From helmets and cannons for war, to bells for religious purposes,
bronze forged a permanent role in cultures worldwide. It remains as the ideal
medium for creating high quality works of art.
But it is not the innovations that distinguish the
history of bronze. It is that thread of mystery – the alchemy of the bronze
process that is unchanged over time. Today, as in the distant past, the sounds
of chains rattling and hammers clanging, the sight of foundry men (and women)
coaxing a crucible of 2,200-degree Fahrenheit molten metal from the fire,
continues to attract artists and those who love art. As the bronze pours,
glowing crimson and bubbling like a lava flow, the magic happens. Art happens.
And the foundry workers clang a loud bell that rings across time and place.
There’s been another pour and new bronze works are cooling, waiting to take
their places in the history of bronze.
|
