Lost wax casting
Encyclopedia
Lost-wax casting sometimes called by the French
name of cire perdue (from the Latin
cera perduta) is the process by which a metal
(such as silver
, gold
, brass
or bronze
) sculpture
is cast from an artist
's sculpture. Intricate works can be achieved by this method, primarily depending on the carver's skills. In industrial
uses, the modern process is called investment casting
. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry
to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardized.
Other names for the process include "lost mould," which recognizes that other materials besides wax
can be used, including tallow
, resin
, tar
, and textile
; and "waste wax process" or "waste mould casting", because the mould is destroyed to unveil the cast item. Other methods of casting include open casting, bivalve mould, and piece mould. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until 18th century, when a piece-mold process came to predominate.
Prior to silica-based casting molds, these molds were made of a variety of other fire-proof materials, the most common being plaster
based, with added grout, and clay
based. Prior to rubber molds gelatine was used.
vary a bit from those used for sculpture. A wax is obtained, either from injection into a rubber mold, or it is custom-made in wax. Occasionally, a custom-made wax might be molded in rubber first as insurance against the loss of the unique wax and related labor costs incurred in carving it. The wax or waxes are sprued and fused onto a rubber base, called a "sprue base". Then a metal flask, which resembles a short length of steel pipe that ranges roughly from 1.5 to six inches tall and wide, is put over the sprue base and the waxes. Most sprue bases have a circular rim which grips the standard-sized flask, holding it in place. Investment (refractory plaster) is mixed and poured into the flask, filling it. It hardens, then is burned out as outlined above. Casting is usually done straight from the kiln either by centrifugal casting
or vacuum casting
.
The lost-wax process can be used with any material that can burn
, melt
, or evaporate
to leave a mold cavity. Some automobile
manufacturers use a lost-foam technique to make engine blocks
. The model is made of polystyrene
foam, which is placed into a casting flask, consisting of a cope and drag
, which is then filled with casting sand. The foam supports the sand, allowing shapes that would be impossible if the process had to rely on the sand alone. The metal is poured in, vaporizing
the foam with its heat.
ornaments from burial mounds
in southern Siberia
of the ancient horse riding tribes
, such as the distinctive group of openwork gold plaques
housed in the Hermitage Museum
, Leningrad
The technique may have its origins in the Far East
, as indicated by the few Han
examples, and the bronze buckle and gold plaques found at the cemetery
at Xigou. Such a technique may also have been used to manufacture some Viking Age
oval
brooch
es, indicated by numerous examples with fabric imprints such as that of Castletown (Scotland)
.
Some early literary works
allude to lost-wax casting. Columella
, a Latin
writer of the first century AD, mentions the processing of wax from beehive
s in De Re Rustica, perhaps for casting, as does Pliny the Elder
, who details a sophisticated procedure for making Punic wax.
One Greek
inscription
refers to the payment of craftsmen for their work on the Erechtheum
in Athens
(408/7-407/6 BC). Clay-modellers may be using clay moulds to make terracotta negatives for casting or to produce wax positives. Pliny portrays Zenodorus
as a well-reputed ancient artist of bronze statues, and describes Lysistratos of Sikyon, who takes plaster casts from living face
s to create wax casts using the indirect process.
Many bronze statues or parts of statues in antiquity were cast using the lost wax process. Theodorus of Samos
is commonly associated with bronze casting. Pliny also mentions the use of lead
, which is known to help molten bronze flow into all areas and parts of complex moulds. Quintilian
documents the casting of statues in parts, whose moulds may have been produced by the lost wax process. Scenes on the early-5th century BC Berlin Foundry Cup
depict the creation of bronze statuary working, probably by the indirect method of lost-wax casting.
, contains detailed information about casting images in metal. The fifth-century AD Vishnusamhita, an appendix to the Vishnu Purana
, refers directly to the modeling of wax for making metal objects in chapter XIV: "if an image is to be made of metal, it must first be made of wax.” Chapter 68 of the ancient Sanskrit text Mānasāra Silpa details casting idols
in wax and is entitled "Maduchchhista vidhānam", or "lost wax method". The Mānasollāsa (also known as the Abhilasitārtha chintāmani) was allegedly written by King Bhūlokamalla Somesvara
of the Chalukya dynasty of Kalyāni
in AD 1124-1125, and also provides detail about lost-wax and other casting processes.
In a 16th-century treatise, the Uttarabhaga of the Śilparatna written by Srïkumāra, verses 32 to 52 of Chapter 2 ("Linga lakshanam") give detailed instructions on making a hollow casting.
, believed to be the Benedictine
monk and metalworker Roger of Helmarshausen
, wrote a treatise in the early to mid-12th century that includes original work and copied information from other sources, such as the Mappae clavicula
and Eraclius, De dolorous et artibus Romanorum. It provides step-by-step procedures for making various articles, some by lost-wax casting: "The Copper Wind Chest and Its Conductor" (Chapter 84); "Tin Cruets" (Chapter 88), and "Casting Bells" (Chapter 85), which calls for using "tallow" instead of wax; "The Cast Censer". In Chapters 86 and 87 Theophilus details how to divide the wax into differing ratio
s, before moulding and casting, to achieve accurately tuned small musical bells
. The 16th-century Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini
may have used Theophilus' writings when he cast his bronze Perseus
.
, the Aztec
s and the Maya
, as shown by archaeological
evidence and a brief 1596 account of Aztec casting by the Spanish writer Releigh.
(now Pakistan
) around 3500 BC in the Mohenjodaro area, which produced earliest known lost-wax casting, the Indian bronze figurine named the “dancing girl” that dates back nearly 5,000 years to the Harappan
period. Other examples include the buffalo, bull and dog found from Mohenjodaro and Harappa
, two copper
figures found at the Harappan site Lothal
in the district of Ahmedabad of Gujurat, and likely the covered cart with wheels missing and a complete cart with a driver found at Chanhudaro
.
During the post-Harappan period, hoards of copper and bronze implements made by the lost-wax process are known from Uttar Pradesh
, Bihar
, Madhya Pradesh
, Orissa
, Andhra Pradesh
and West Bengal
. Gold and copper ornaments, apparently Hellenistic
in style, made by cire perdue are found at the ruins at Sirkap
. One example of this Indo-Greek art dates to the 1st century BC, the juvenile figure of Harpocrates
excavated at Taxila
. Bronze icon
s were produced during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, such as the Buddha
image at Amaravati
, the images of Rama
and Kartikeya in the Guntur
district of Andhra Pradesh. A further two bronze images of Parsvanatha and a small hollow-cast bull were come from Sahribahlol, Gandhara
, as well as the standing Tirthankara (2nd, 3rd century AD) from Chausa in Bihar. Other notable bronze figures and images have been found in Rupar, Mathura (in Uttar Pradesh) and Brahmapura
, Maharashtra
.
Gupta and post-Gupta period bronze figures have been recovered from the following sites: Saranath
, Mirpur-Khas (in Pakistan
), Sirpur
(District of Raipur), Balaighat (near Mahasthan
now in Bangladesh
), Akota
(near Vadodara
, Gujurat), Vasantagadh, Chhatarhi
, Barmer
and Chambi (in Rajesthan
). Producing images by the lost-wax process reached its peak during from 750 AD to 1100 AD, and still remained prevalent in south India between 1500 AD and 1850. The technique still remains well practiced throughout India, as well as neighbouring countries Nepal
, Tibet
, Ceylon
, Burma and Siam.
and Chou dynasties
(approximately 1500 BC to 500 BC) has commonly been assumed to be by the lost-mould method. Further investigations have revealed this not to be the case as it is clear that the piece-mould casting method was the principal technique used to manufacture bronze vessels in China
. The lost-wax technique did not appear in northern China until the 6th century BC. Lost-wax casting is known as ro-gata in Japanese
, and dates back to the Yayoi period
of circa 200 BC
. The most famous piece made by cire perdue is the bronze image of Buddha in the temple of the Todaiji
monastery at Nara
. It was made in sections between 743 AD and 749 AD, allegedly using seven tons of wax.
s (virtually non-existent in second millennium China) made by the lost-wax process are characteristic of northeast Thailand
. The inhabitants of Ban Na Di were casting bronze between 1200 BC and 200 AD, using the lost-wax technique to manufacture their bangles. Some of the bangles from Ban Na Di revealed a dark grey substance between the central clay core and the metal, which on analysis was identified as an unrefined form of insect
wax. It is likely that decorative items, like bracelet
s and rings
, were made by cire perdue at Non Nok Tha and Ban Chiang
.
There are technological and material parallels between northeast Thailand and Vietnam
concerning the lost-wax technique. The sites exhibiting artifacts made by the lost-mould process in Vietnam, such as the Dong Son drums
come from the Dong Son
,and Phung Nguyen cultures, such as one sickle
and the figure of a seated individual from Go Mun (near Phung Nguyen, the Bac Bo Region), dating to the Go Mun phase (end of the General B period, up until the 7th century BC).
, made of copper and bronze. A small lion pendant
from Uruk IV was cast by cire perdue,one of the earliest surviving lost-wax castings, however, earlier lost-wax object examples come from the Nahal Mishmar
hoard
(Israel
) made circa 3700 BC. The Sumer
ian metalworkers were practicing lost-wax casting from approximately 3500 BC to 3200 BC. Much later examples from northeastern Mesopotamia/Anatolia
include the Great Tumulus at Gordion
(end of 8th century BC), as well as other types of Urartian
cauldron
attachments.
, shown by Early Dynastic
bracelets and gold jewellery. Inserted spouts for ewers (copper water vessels) from the Fourth Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
were made by the lost-wax method. Hollow castings, such as the Louvre
statuette from the Fayum find appear during the Middle Kingdom
, followed by solid cast statuettes (like the squatting, nursing
mother
, in Brooklyn
) of the Second Intermediate/Early New Kingdom
. The hollow casting of statues is represented in the New Kingdom by the kneeling
statue of Tuthmosis IV (British Museum
, London
) and the head fragment of Ramesses V
(Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge). Hollow castings become more detailed and continue into the Eighteenth Dynasty
, shown by the black bronze kneeling figure of Tutankhamun
(Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
). Cire Perdue is used in mass-production
during the Late Period
to Graeco
-Roman time when figures of deities
are cast for personal devotion
and votive temple offerings
. The nude
-woman
shaped handles of bronze mirror
s are cast by the lost-wax process.
during the Bronze Age
, particularly in the second millennium BC. Direct imitations and local derivations of Oriental, Syro
-Palestinian
and Cypriot
figurine
s are found in Late Bronze Age Sardinia
, with a local production of figurines from the eleventh
to tenth century BC
.
Some Late Bronze Age sites in Cyprus have produced cast bronze figures of humans and animals: one example is the male figure found at Enkomi
. Three objects from Cyprus (held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York
) were cast as by the lost-wax technique, from the 13th and 12th centuries BC, namely, the Amphora
e Rim, the rod tripod
, and the cast tripod.
The cremation
graves
(mainly 8th-7th centuries BC, but continuing until the beginning of the 4th century from the necropolis
of Paularo
(Italian Oriental Alps) contained fibulae, pendants and other copper-based objects that were made by the lost-wax process. Etruscan
examples, such as the bronze anthropomorphic
handle from the Bocchi collection (National Archaeological Museum of Adria
), dating back to the 6th to 5th centuries BC, were made by cire perdue. Most of the handles in the Bocchi collection, as well as some Bronze vessels found in Adria (Rovigo
, Italy
) were made using the lost-wax technique.
The better known lost-wax produced items from the classical world include the “Praying Boy” circa 300 BC
(in the Berlin Museum), the statue of Hera
from Vulci
(Etruria), which, like most statues, were cast in several parts and then joined together. Other, earlier examples that show this assembly of lost-wax cast pieces include the bronze head of the Chatsworth Apollo
, and the bronze head of Aphrodite
from Satala
(modern Turkey
, formerly Armenia
) from the British Museum. Geometric bronzes such as the four copper horse
s of San Marco
(Venice
, probably 2nd century) are other prime examples of statues cast in many parts.
by the kingdoms of Benin
, Yorubaland
, Ife
and in Igboland
, including Igbo-Ukwu
in Nigeria
. Some portrait heads remain.
, Costa Rica
, Panama
, Colombia
, northwest Venezuela
, Andean America, and the western portion of South America
. Lost-wax casting produced some of the region's typical gold wire
and delicate wire ornament, such as fine ear ornaments. The process was employed in prehispanic times in Colombia's Muisca
and Sinú cultural areas. Two lost-wax moulds, one complete and one partially broken, were found in a shaft and chamber tomb
in the vereda
of Pueblo Tapado in the municipio
of Montenegro
(Department of Quindío
), dated roughly to the pre-Columbian period. The lost-wax method did not appear in Mexico
until the 10th century, and was thereafter used in western Mexico to make a wide range of bell forms.
(1104-1113 AD) was made as a single-piece wax model, then given a complex system of gates and vents before being invested in a mould. The Dunaverney (1050910 BC) and Little Thetford
(1000701 BC) flesh-hooks have been shown to be made using a lost-wax process. The Little Thetford flesh-hook, in particular, employed distinctly inventive construction methods.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name of cire perdue (from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
cera perduta) is the process by which a metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
(such as silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
or bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
) sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
is cast from an artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
's sculpture. Intricate works can be achieved by this method, primarily depending on the carver's skills. In industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
uses, the modern process is called investment casting
Investment casting
Investment casting is an industrial process based on and also called lost-wax casting, one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques. From 5,000 years ago, when beeswax formed the pattern, to today’s high-technology waxes, refractory materials and specialist alloys, the castings allow the...
. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardized.
Other names for the process include "lost mould," which recognizes that other materials besides wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
can be used, including tallow
Tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
, resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
, tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
, and textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
; and "waste wax process" or "waste mould casting", because the mould is destroyed to unveil the cast item. Other methods of casting include open casting, bivalve mould, and piece mould. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until 18th century, when a piece-mold process came to predominate.
Process
Casts can be made of the wax model itself, the direct method; or of a wax copy of a model that need not be of wax, the indirect method. These are the steps for the indirect process:- Model-making. An artist or mold-maker creates an original model from wax, clayClayClay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, or another material. Wax and oil-based clay are often preferred because these materials retain their softness. - Moldmaking. A moldMolding (process)Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
is made of the original model or sculpture. The rigid outer molds contain the softer inner mold, which is the exact negative of the original model. Inner molds are usually made of latexLatexLatex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
, polyurethane rubberPolyurethaneA polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
or siliconeSiliconeSilicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....
, which is supported by the outer mold. The outer mold can be made from plasterPlasterPlaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, but can also be made of fiberglassGlass-reinforced plasticFiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
or other materials. Most molds are at least two pieces, and a shim with keys is placed between the two halves during construction so that the mold can be put back together accurately. In case there are long, thin pieces sticking out of the model, these are often cut off of the original and molded separately. Sometimes many molds are needed to recreate the original model, especially for large models. - Wax. Once the mold is finished, molten wax is poured into it and swished around until an even coating, usually about inch (3 mm) thick, covers the inner surface of the mold. This is repeated until the desired thickness is reached. Another method is filling the entire mold with molten wax, and letting it cool, until a desired thickness has set on the surface of the mold. After this the rest of the wax is poured out again, the mold is turned upside down and the wax layer is left to cool and harden. With this method it is more difficult to control the overall thickness of the wax layer.
- Removal of wax. This hollow wax copy of the original model is removed from the mold. The model-maker may reuse the mold to make multiple copies, limited only by the durability of the mold.
- Chasing. Each hollow wax copy is then "chased": a heated metal tool is used to rub out the marks that show the parting lineParting lineA parting line in moldmaking is the place where two or more parts of the mold meet. At times, either because the mold halves do not meet with enough precision or because injection pressure is high, material will creep into the space between the molds. This material is generally called molding...
or flashingMolding flashFlash, also known as flashing, is excess material attached to a molded, forged, or cast product, which must usually be removed. This is typically caused by leakage of the material between the two surfaces of a mold or between the base material and the mold...
where the pieces of the mold came together. The wax is dressed to hide any imperfections. The wax now looks like the finished piece. Wax pieces that were molded separately can be heated and attached; foundries often use registration marks to indicate exactly where they go. - Spruing. The wax copy is sprueSprue (molding)A sprue is the passage through which liquid material is introduced into a mold. During casting or molding, the material in the sprue will solidify and need to be removed from the finished part.-Casting:...
d with a treelike structure of wax that will eventually provide paths for molten casting material to flow and air to escape. The carefully planned spruing usually begins at the top with a wax "cup," which is attached by wax cylinders to various points on the wax copy. This spruing doesn't have to be hollow, as it will be melted out later in the process. - Slurry. A sprued wax copy is dipped into a slurry of silica, then into a sand-like stuccoStuccoStucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
, or dry crystalline silica of a controlled grain size. The slurry and grit combination is called ceramic shell mold material, although it is not literally made of ceramicCeramicA ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
. This shell is allowed to dry, and the process is repeated until at least a half-inch coating covers the entire piece. The bigger the piece, the thicker the shell needs to be. Only the inside of the cup is not coated, and the cup's flat top serves as the base upon which the piece stands during this process. - Burnout. The ceramic shell-coated piece is placed cup-down in a kilnKilnA kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
, whose heat hardens the silica coatings into a shell, and the wax melts and runs out. The melted wax can be recovered and reused, although often it is simply burned up. Now all that remains of the original artwork is the negative space, formerly occupied by the wax, inside the hardened ceramic shell. The feeder and vent tubes and cup are also hollow. - Testing. The ceramic shell is allowed to cool, then is tested to see if waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
will flow through the feeder and vent tubes as necessary. Cracks or leaks can be patched with thick refractory paste. To test the thickness, holes can be drilled into the shell, then patched. - Pouring. The shell is reheated in the kiln to harden the patches and remove all traces of moisture, then placed cup-upwards into a tub filled with sand. Metal is melted in a crucible in a furnace, then poured carefully into the shell. If the shell were not hot, the temperature difference would shatter it. The filled shells are allowed to cool.
- Release. The shell is hammered or sand-blasted away, releasing the rough casting. The sprues, which are also faithfully recreated in metal, are cut off, to be reused in another casting.
- Metal-chasing. Just as the wax copies were chased, the casting is worked until the telltale signs of the casting process are removed, and the casting now looks like the original model. Pits left by air bubbles in the casting, and the stubs of spruing are filed down and polished.
Prior to silica-based casting molds, these molds were made of a variety of other fire-proof materials, the most common being plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
based, with added grout, and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
based. Prior to rubber molds gelatine was used.
Casting jewellery and small parts
The methods used for small parts and jewelleryJewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
vary a bit from those used for sculpture. A wax is obtained, either from injection into a rubber mold, or it is custom-made in wax. Occasionally, a custom-made wax might be molded in rubber first as insurance against the loss of the unique wax and related labor costs incurred in carving it. The wax or waxes are sprued and fused onto a rubber base, called a "sprue base". Then a metal flask, which resembles a short length of steel pipe that ranges roughly from 1.5 to six inches tall and wide, is put over the sprue base and the waxes. Most sprue bases have a circular rim which grips the standard-sized flask, holding it in place. Investment (refractory plaster) is mixed and poured into the flask, filling it. It hardens, then is burned out as outlined above. Casting is usually done straight from the kiln either by centrifugal casting
Centrifugal casting
Centrifugal casting in silversmithing is a casting technique where a small mould is poured, then spun on the end of an arm. The centrifugal force thus generated encourages a successful pour.-Processes:Centrifugal casting, or centrifuging,...
or vacuum casting
Vacuum casting
Vacuum casting is a casting process for elastomers using a vacuum to draw the liquid material into the mold. This process is used when air entrapment is a problem, there are intricate details or undercuts, or if the material is fiber or wire reinforced....
.
The lost-wax process can be used with any material that can burn
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
, melt
Melting
Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase change of a substance from a solid to a liquid. The internal energy of a substance is increased, typically by the application of heat or pressure, resulting in a rise of its temperature to the melting point, at which the rigid...
, or evaporate
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
to leave a mold cavity. Some automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturers use a lost-foam technique to make engine blocks
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
. The model is made of polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
foam, which is placed into a casting flask, consisting of a cope and drag
Cope and drag
In foundry work, the terms cope and drag refer respectively to the upper and lower parts of a two-part casting flask, used in sand casting. The flask is a wood or metal frame, which contains the molding sand, providing support to the sand as the metal is poured into the mold...
, which is then filled with casting sand. The foam supports the sand, allowing shapes that would be impossible if the process had to rely on the sand alone. The metal is poured in, vaporizing
Vaporization
Vaporization of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid or solid phase to gas phase. There are three types of vaporization: evaporation, boiling and sublimation....
the foam with its heat.
Textile use
In this process, the wax and the textile were both replaced by the metal during the casting process, whereby the fabric reinforcement would allow for a thinner model, and thus reduce the amount of metal expended in the mould. Evidence of this process is seen by the textile relief on the reverse side of objects and is sometimes referred to as "lost-wax, lost textile". This textile relief is visible on goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
ornaments from burial mounds
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
in southern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
of the ancient horse riding tribes
Domestication of the horse
There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were truly wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when horses became domesticated is disputed...
, such as the distinctive group of openwork gold plaques
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
housed in the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
, Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
The technique may have its origins in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, as indicated by the few Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
examples, and the bronze buckle and gold plaques found at the cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
at Xigou. Such a technique may also have been used to manufacture some Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
brooch
Brooch
A brooch ; also known in ancient times as a fibula; is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material...
es, indicated by numerous examples with fabric imprints such as that of Castletown (Scotland)
Castletown, Caithness
Castletown is a village on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland, situated near Dunnet Bay. It is within the civil parish of Olrig, where it is the main settlement, and within the historic county of Caithness. The A836 links the village with Thurso and Tongue in the west and...
.
Indirect literary evidence
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
allude to lost-wax casting. Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
, a Latin
Latins
"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...
writer of the first century AD, mentions the processing of wax from beehive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...
s in De Re Rustica, perhaps for casting, as does Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, who details a sophisticated procedure for making Punic wax.
One Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
refers to the payment of craftsmen for their work on the Erechtheum
Erechtheum
The Erechtheion is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece.-Architecture:The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 406 BC. Its architect may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
(408/7-407/6 BC). Clay-modellers may be using clay moulds to make terracotta negatives for casting or to produce wax positives. Pliny portrays Zenodorus
Zenodorus
Zenodorus is a spider genus of the Salticidae family . They are distributed from the Moluccas to Australia, including several islands of the Pacific.At least one species, Z...
as a well-reputed ancient artist of bronze statues, and describes Lysistratos of Sikyon, who takes plaster casts from living face
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
s to create wax casts using the indirect process.
Many bronze statues or parts of statues in antiquity were cast using the lost wax process. Theodorus of Samos
Theodorus of Samos
Theodorus of Samos was a 6th century BC ancient Greek sculptor and architect from the Greek island of Samos. Along with Rhoecus, he was often credited with the invention of ore smelting and, according to Pausanias, the craft of casting. He is also credited with inventing a water level, a...
is commonly associated with bronze casting. Pliny also mentions the use of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, which is known to help molten bronze flow into all areas and parts of complex moulds. Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
documents the casting of statues in parts, whose moulds may have been produced by the lost wax process. Scenes on the early-5th century BC Berlin Foundry Cup
Berlin Foundry Cup
The Berlin Foundry Cup is a red-figure kylix from the early 5th century BC. It is the name vase of the Attic vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is the exterior depiction of activities in an Athenian bronze workshop or foundry...
depict the creation of bronze statuary working, probably by the indirect method of lost-wax casting.
Direct literary evidence
India
The lost-wax method is well documented in ancient Indian literary sources. The Silpasastras, a text from the Gupta PeriodGupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
, contains detailed information about casting images in metal. The fifth-century AD Vishnusamhita, an appendix to the Vishnu Purana
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...
, refers directly to the modeling of wax for making metal objects in chapter XIV: "if an image is to be made of metal, it must first be made of wax.” Chapter 68 of the ancient Sanskrit text Mānasāra Silpa details casting idols
Cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
in wax and is entitled "Maduchchhista vidhānam", or "lost wax method". The Mānasollāsa (also known as the Abhilasitārtha chintāmani) was allegedly written by King Bhūlokamalla Somesvara
Somesvara III
Somesvara III was a Western Chalukya king and son of Vikramaditya VI and Queen Chandaladevi. A king more inclined towards literature, Someshvara III had to face the invasion of the Hoysala Vishnuvardhana but was able to suppress him...
of the Chalukya dynasty of Kalyāni
Western Chalukyas
The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in Karnataka and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical...
in AD 1124-1125, and also provides detail about lost-wax and other casting processes.
In a 16th-century treatise, the Uttarabhaga of the Śilparatna written by Srïkumāra, verses 32 to 52 of Chapter 2 ("Linga lakshanam") give detailed instructions on making a hollow casting.
Theophilus
Early medieval writer Theophilus PresbyterTheophilus Presbyter
Theophilus Presbyter is the pseudonymous author or compiler ofa Latin text containing detailed descriptions of various medieval arts, a text commonly known as the Schedula diversarum artium or De diversis artibus , probably first compiled between 1100 and 1120...
, believed to be the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monk and metalworker Roger of Helmarshausen
Roger of Helmarshausen
Roger of Helmarshausen was a well-known goldsmith and metalwork artist, and also a Benedictine monk.-Artistic career:Roger is first heard of in connection with Stavelot Abbey in the Meuse valley, a centre of Mosan art, and especially goldsmith's work. He worked between 1100 and 1107 in St....
, wrote a treatise in the early to mid-12th century that includes original work and copied information from other sources, such as the Mappae clavicula
Mappae clavicula
The Mappae clavicula is a medieval Latin text, a compilation containing recipes for a number of crafts including metalwork, dyeing and mosaic, as well as several recipes relevant to painting...
and Eraclius, De dolorous et artibus Romanorum. It provides step-by-step procedures for making various articles, some by lost-wax casting: "The Copper Wind Chest and Its Conductor" (Chapter 84); "Tin Cruets" (Chapter 88), and "Casting Bells" (Chapter 85), which calls for using "tallow" instead of wax; "The Cast Censer". In Chapters 86 and 87 Theophilus details how to divide the wax into differing ratio
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind , usually expressed as "a to b" or a:b, sometimes expressed arithmetically as a dimensionless quotient of the two which explicitly indicates how many times the first number contains the second In mathematics, a ratio is...
s, before moulding and casting, to achieve accurately tuned small musical bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
. The 16th-century Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician, who also wrote a famous autobiography. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism.-Youth:...
may have used Theophilus' writings when he cast his bronze Perseus
Perseus
Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...
.
The Conquistadors
The lost-wax process was known to the IncasInca civilization
The Andean civilizations made up a loose patchwork of different cultures that developed from the highlands of Colombia to the Atacama Desert. The Andean civilizations are mainly based on the cultures of Ancient Peru and some others such as Tiahuanaco. The Inca Empire was the last sovereign...
, the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s and the Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, as shown by archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence and a brief 1596 account of Aztec casting by the Spanish writer Releigh.
South Asia
Metalcasting began in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(now Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) around 3500 BC in the Mohenjodaro area, which produced earliest known lost-wax casting, the Indian bronze figurine named the “dancing girl” that dates back nearly 5,000 years to the Harappan
Harappan
Harappan can refer to:* Aspects related to Harappa an archaeological site and city in northeast Pakistan* The Indus Valley Civilization that thrived along Indus River...
period. Other examples include the buffalo, bull and dog found from Mohenjodaro and Harappa
Harappa
Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River. The current village of Harappa is from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a train station left from...
, two copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
figures found at the Harappan site Lothal
Lothal
Lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization. Located in Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 2400 BCE. Discovered in 1954, Lothal was excavated from February 13, 1955 to May 19, 1960 by the Archaeological Survey of India...
in the district of Ahmedabad of Gujurat, and likely the covered cart with wheels missing and a complete cart with a driver found at Chanhudaro
Chanhudaro
-Introduction:Chanhudaro is an archaeological site belonging to the post-urban Jhukar phase of Indus valley civilization. The site is located south of Mohenjodaro, in Sindh, Pakistan. The settlement was inhabited between 4000-1700 BCE, and is considered to have been a centre for manufacturing...
.
During the post-Harappan period, hoards of copper and bronze implements made by the lost-wax process are known from Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Gold and copper ornaments, apparently Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
in style, made by cire perdue are found at the ruins at Sirkap
Sirkap
Sirkap is the name of an archaeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.The city of Sirkap was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded ancient India around 180 BC. Demetrius founded in the northern and northwestern Indian subcontinent an...
. One example of this Indo-Greek art dates to the 1st century BC, the juvenile figure of Harpocrates
Harpocrates
In late Greek mythology as developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria, Harpocrates is the god of silence. Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus. To the ancient Egyptians, Horus represented the new-born Sun, rising each day at dawn...
excavated at Taxila
Taxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
. Bronze icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s were produced during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, such as the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
image at Amaravati
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
Amaravathi is a small town situated on the banks of the River Krishna in the Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous for its Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is one of the famous Pancharamas. Amaravati, also known as Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota was the site of a...
, the images of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and Kartikeya in the Guntur
Guntur
Guntur , is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Guntur is the fourth largest city in Andhra...
district of Andhra Pradesh. A further two bronze images of Parsvanatha and a small hollow-cast bull were come from Sahribahlol, Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
, as well as the standing Tirthankara (2nd, 3rd century AD) from Chausa in Bihar. Other notable bronze figures and images have been found in Rupar, Mathura (in Uttar Pradesh) and Brahmapura
Brahmapura
In Hinduism, Brahmapura is the holy city of Brahma, one of the three primary deities.It is located on Mt. Meru. It is also referred to as Brahmaloka or Satyaloka.-Two kinds of Brahmaloka:...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.
Gupta and post-Gupta period bronze figures have been recovered from the following sites: Saranath
Sarnath
Sarnath or Sārnātha is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India...
, Mirpur-Khas (in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
), Sirpur
Sirpur
Sirpur or Sirpur-Tandura is a town and a Mandal in Adilabad district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.Sirpur is a mandal and town in Adilabad district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Sirpur is a thousand year old village famous for the Sirpur paper mills. The main source of income of the...
(District of Raipur), Balaighat (near Mahasthan
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh is the earliest urban archaeological site so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj thana of Bogra District contains the remains of an ancient city which was called Pundranagara or Paundravardhanapura in the territory of Pundravardhana...
now in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
), Akota
Akota
Akota is an urban area in the western side of Vadodara City, in the state of Gujarat, in India.Earlier it was known as "Anakotakka". The suburb is located on the banks of river Vishwamitri....
(near Vadodara
Vadodara
Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...
, Gujurat), Vasantagadh, Chhatarhi
Chhatari
Chhatari is a town and a nagar panchayat in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-History:Chhatari was a jagir during British India.It was owned by Nawabs of Lalkhani, a Badgujar, Muslim Rajput community.-Nawabs of Chhatari:...
, Barmer
Barmer, Rajasthan
Barmer is the headquarters of the Barmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is a city and a municipality.-Origin of name:...
and Chambi (in Rajesthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
). Producing images by the lost-wax process reached its peak during from 750 AD to 1100 AD, and still remained prevalent in south India between 1500 AD and 1850. The technique still remains well practiced throughout India, as well as neighbouring countries Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Ceylon
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Burma and Siam.
East Asia
There is great variability in the use of the lost-wax method in South East Asia. The casting method of bronze during the ShangShang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
and Chou dynasties
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
(approximately 1500 BC to 500 BC) has commonly been assumed to be by the lost-mould method. Further investigations have revealed this not to be the case as it is clear that the piece-mould casting method was the principal technique used to manufacture bronze vessels in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The lost-wax technique did not appear in northern China until the 6th century BC. Lost-wax casting is known as ro-gata in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and dates back to the Yayoi period
Yayoi period
The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...
of circa 200 BC
200 BC
Year 200 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Cotta...
. The most famous piece made by cire perdue is the bronze image of Buddha in the temple of the Todaiji
Todai-ji
, is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall , the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the ...
monastery at Nara
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara encompasses eight places in the old capital Nara in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Five are Buddhist temples, one is a Shinto shrine, one is a Palace and one a primeval forest. The properties include 26 buildings designated by the Japanese...
. It was made in sections between 743 AD and 749 AD, allegedly using seven tons of wax.
Southeast Asia
BangleBangle
Bangles or churi are traditional ornaments worn mostly by South Asian women in India and Bangladesh, especially Hindus. It is tradition that the bride will try to wear as many small glass bangles as possible at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks...
s (virtually non-existent in second millennium China) made by the lost-wax process are characteristic of northeast Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The inhabitants of Ban Na Di were casting bronze between 1200 BC and 200 AD, using the lost-wax technique to manufacture their bangles. Some of the bangles from Ban Na Di revealed a dark grey substance between the central clay core and the metal, which on analysis was identified as an unrefined form of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
wax. It is likely that decorative items, like bracelet
Bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewelry which is worn around the wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic or other materials and sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, and/or shells...
s and rings
Ring (jewellery)
A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings....
, were made by cire perdue at Non Nok Tha and Ban Chiang
Ban Chiang
Ban Chiang is an archeological site located in Nong Han district, Udon Thani Province, Thailand. It has been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1992....
.
There are technological and material parallels between northeast Thailand and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
concerning the lost-wax technique. The sites exhibiting artifacts made by the lost-mould process in Vietnam, such as the Dong Son drums
Dong Son drums
Đông Sơn drums are bronze drums fabricated by the Dong Son culture, in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam...
come from the Dong Son
Dong Son culture
The Đông Sơn culture was a prehistoric Bronze Age age in Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam. At this time the first Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared...
,and Phung Nguyen cultures, such as one sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
and the figure of a seated individual from Go Mun (near Phung Nguyen, the Bac Bo Region), dating to the Go Mun phase (end of the General B period, up until the 7th century BC).
Near East
The lost-wax technique was used and developed for small-scale, and then large-scale, statues from circa 3500 BC to 2750 BC in MesopotamiaMesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, made of copper and bronze. A small lion pendant
Pendant
A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. In modern French "pendant" is the gerund form of “hanging”...
from Uruk IV was cast by cire perdue,one of the earliest surviving lost-wax castings, however, earlier lost-wax object examples come from the Nahal Mishmar
Nahal Mishmar
Nahal Mishmar is one of the smaller seasonal streams in the Judean Desert.-Geography:Nahal Mishmar begins in the Hebron hills, running east towards the Dead Sea...
hoard
Hoard
In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
(Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) made circa 3700 BC. The Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian metalworkers were practicing lost-wax casting from approximately 3500 BC to 3200 BC. Much later examples from northeastern Mesopotamia/Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
include the Great Tumulus at Gordion
Gordium
Gordium was the capital city of ancient Phrygia. It was located at the site of modern Yassıhüyük, about 70–80 km southwest of Ankara , in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı district. The site was excavated by Gustav and Alfred Körte in 1900 and then by the University of Pennsylvania Museum,...
(end of 8th century BC), as well as other types of Urartian
Urartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
cauldron
Cauldron
A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...
attachments.
Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians were practicing cire perdue from the mid 3rd millennium BC3rd millennium BC
The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age.It represents a period of time in which imperialism, or the desire to conquer, grew to prominence, in the city states of the Middle East, but also throughout Eurasia, with Indo-European expansion to Anatolia, Europe and Central Asia. The...
, shown by Early Dynastic
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom...
bracelets and gold jewellery. Inserted spouts for ewers (copper water vessels) from the Fourth Dynasty (Old Kingdom)
Fourth dynasty of Egypt
The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...
were made by the lost-wax method. Hollow castings, such as the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
statuette from the Fayum find appear during the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
, followed by solid cast statuettes (like the squatting, nursing
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
) of the Second Intermediate/Early New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
. The hollow casting of statues is represented in the New Kingdom by the kneeling
Kneeling
Kneeling is a human position in which the weight is distributed on the knees and feet on a surface close to horizontal.The position of kneeling may be assumed for practical reasons and for reasons of social or religious custom.- Practical reasons :...
statue of Tuthmosis IV (British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) and the head fragment of Ramesses V
Ramesses V
Usermare Sekhepenre Ramesses V was the fourth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and was the son of Ramesses IV and Queen Duatentopet.- Reign :...
(Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge). Hollow castings become more detailed and continue into the Eighteenth Dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
, shown by the black bronze kneeling figure of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
(Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, commonly called The Penn Museum, is an archaeology and anthropology museum that is part of the University of Pennsylvania in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:An internationally renowned...
). Cire Perdue is used in mass-production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
during the Late Period
Late Period of Ancient Egypt
The Late Period of Ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Persian conquests and ended with the death of Alexander the Great...
to Graeco
Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
-Roman time when figures of deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
are cast for personal devotion
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
and votive temple offerings
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
. The nude
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
-woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
shaped handles of bronze mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
s are cast by the lost-wax process.
Classical Greek and Roman, and the Mediterranean
The lost-wax technique was known in the AegeanAegean civilization
Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland. Crete is associated with the Minoan civilization...
during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, particularly in the second millennium BC. Direct imitations and local derivations of Oriental, Syro
History of Syria
The history of Syria:*Prehistory and Ancient Near East: see Pre-history of the Southern Levant, Fertile Crescent, Ebla, Mitanni*Antiquity: see Syro-Hittite states, Greater Syria, Roman Syria...
-Palestinian
History of Palestine
The Southern Levant is the southern portion of the geographical region bordering the Mediterranean between Egypt and Mesopotamia . A narrow definition would take in roughly the same area as the modern states of Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Jordan, while a wider definition would...
and Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
s are found in Late Bronze Age Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, with a local production of figurines from the eleventh
11th century BC
The 11th century BC comprises all years from 1100 BC to 1001 BC. Although many human societies were literate in this period, some of the individuals mentioned below may be considered legendary rather than fully historical.-Events:...
to tenth century BC
10th century BC
The 10th century BC started the first day of 1000 BC and ended the last day of 901 BC.- Overview :This period followed the Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, and the century saw the Early Iron Age take hold there. The Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC continued. The Neo-Assyrian...
.
Some Late Bronze Age sites in Cyprus have produced cast bronze figures of humans and animals: one example is the male figure found at Enkomi
Enkomi
This article is about the town and ancient settlement near Famagusta. For the suburb of Nicosia , see: Engomi.Enkomi is a village near Famagusta on Cyprus. It is the site of an important Bronze Age city, possibly the capital of Alasiya...
. Three objects from Cyprus (held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) were cast as by the lost-wax technique, from the 13th and 12th centuries BC, namely, the Amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
e Rim, the rod tripod
Tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The word comes from the Greek tripous, meaning "three feet". A tripod provides stability against downward forces, horizontal forces and moments about the...
, and the cast tripod.
The cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
graves
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
(mainly 8th-7th centuries BC, but continuing until the beginning of the 4th century from the necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
of Paularo
Paularo
Paularo is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 110 km northwest of Trieste and about 50 km north of Udine, on the border with Austria...
(Italian Oriental Alps) contained fibulae, pendants and other copper-based objects that were made by the lost-wax process. Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
examples, such as the bronze anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
handle from the Bocchi collection (National Archaeological Museum of Adria
Adria
Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po....
), dating back to the 6th to 5th centuries BC, were made by cire perdue. Most of the handles in the Bocchi collection, as well as some Bronze vessels found in Adria (Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) were made using the lost-wax technique.
The better known lost-wax produced items from the classical world include the “Praying Boy” circa 300 BC
300 BC
Year 300 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Pansa...
(in the Berlin Museum), the statue of Hera
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
from Vulci
Volci
thumb|250px|The Castle dell'Abbadia and the bridge.Volci or Vulci is an Etruscan city in the Province of Viterbo, north to Rome, Italy....
(Etruria), which, like most statues, were cast in several parts and then joined together. Other, earlier examples that show this assembly of lost-wax cast pieces include the bronze head of the Chatsworth Apollo
Chatsworth Head
The Chatsworth Head is a slightly over-life-size bronze head dating to around 460 BC which is now in the British Museum.-Description:The head was originally part of a complete statue, probably one of Apollo, made up of various sections The Chatsworth Head is a slightly over-life-size bronze head...
, and the bronze head of Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
from Satala
Satala
Located in Turkey, the city of Satala , according to the ancient geographers, was situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, a little north of the Euphrates, where the road from Trapezus to Samosata crossed the boundary of the Roman Empire...
(modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, formerly Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
) from the British Museum. Geometric bronzes such as the four copper horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s of San Marco
San Marco
San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore...
(Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, probably 2nd century) are other prime examples of statues cast in many parts.
Africa
Cast bronzes were produced in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
by the kingdoms of Benin
Benin Empire
The Benin Empire was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It is not to be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.-Origin:...
, Yorubaland
Yorùbáland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...
, Ife
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of inhabitation at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 560 BC...
and in Igboland
Igboland
Igboland, or Igbo land , also known as the Ibo, Ebo, and Heebo Country, is a cultural region in Nigeria that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Igbo people...
, including Igbo-Ukwu
Igbo-Ukwu
Igbo-Ukwu is a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra which was the site of three famous archaeological sites that revealed a highly sophisticated metal-working culture. The first, Igbo Isaiah, was uncovered in 1938 by Isaiah Anozie a local villager who stumbled upon the bronze works while digging...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Some portrait heads remain.
Latin America
The lost-wax casting tradition was developed by the peoples of NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, northwest Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Andean America, and the western portion of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Lost-wax casting produced some of the region's typical gold wire
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
and delicate wire ornament, such as fine ear ornaments. The process was employed in prehispanic times in Colombia's Muisca
Muisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
and Sinú cultural areas. Two lost-wax moulds, one complete and one partially broken, were found in a shaft and chamber tomb
Shaft and chamber tomb
A Shaft and chamber tomb is a type of chamber tomb used by some ancient peoples for burial of the dead. They consist of a shaft dug into the outcrops of rock with a square or round chamber excavated at the bottom where the dead were placed....
in the vereda
Vereda
Vereda is a subdivisional administrative part of a municipality in Colombia...
of Pueblo Tapado in the municipio
Municipio
Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...
of Montenegro
Montenegro, Quindío
Montenegro is a municipality in the western part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 10 km west of the departmental capital Armenia....
(Department of Quindío
Quindío Department
Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and touristic landmarks...
), dated roughly to the pre-Columbian period. The lost-wax method did not appear in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
until the 10th century, and was thereafter used in western Mexico to make a wide range of bell forms.
Early medieval Europe
The intricate Gloucester candlestickGloucester candlestick
The Gloucester Candlestick is an elaborately decorated English Romanesque gilt-bronze candlestick, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was made for Gloucester Cathedral between 1104 and 1113.-Description:...
(1104-1113 AD) was made as a single-piece wax model, then given a complex system of gates and vents before being invested in a mould. The Dunaverney (1050910 BC) and Little Thetford
Little Thetford
Little Thetford is a small village and civil parish south of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. The village is built on a boulder clay island surrounded by flat fenland countryside, typical of settlements in this part of the East of England...
(1000701 BC) flesh-hooks have been shown to be made using a lost-wax process. The Little Thetford flesh-hook, in particular, employed distinctly inventive construction methods.