| Short History of Metal Arts |
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| Tuesday, 22 September 2009 04:52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oldest ExamplesThe oldest surviving metal casting is a copper frog from 3200 BC cast in Mesopotamia. Amsuvarna, ruler of Nepal, ordered a metal crest for Changu Narayan Temple in 607 AD, and at least one Bronze Buddha from that period survives, according to the Spiny Babbler Museum of Nepalese Arts. The Egyptians and Sumerians were casting metal for weapons, tools, coins and decorative sculpture by 3500 BC. Written records show the Greeks created more statues from metal than from marble; sadly few examples survive because metal sculptures are often melted down in times of war to create weapons. The Zeus of Artemisium (c. 460 to 450 BC) can be seen at the National Museum in Athens, and The Delphic Charioteer (c. 470 BC), at the Delphi Museum.
Casting MetalCasting is the process of pouring a liquid material into a hollow cavity of the desired shape and then allowing it to solidify. The process was first used over 6,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. Gold, silver and copper were probably the first metals cast, but bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was the most useful because of its durability. Casting is often used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or expensive to make. The first casting molds were stone or clay. The Greeks and the Chinese each perfected a lost-wax method of casting. Nowadays, molds can be made of traditional or high-tech materials.
BronzeBronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures partly due to one unusual and desirable property. It expands slightly just before it starts to harden. This expansion causes the metal to press into even the finest details of the mold, making a perfect copy. Bronze also has the advantage of being strong without being brittle.
DevelopmentsIn the 1500s, in France, metal workers started using wet sand as a mold, which had the advantage of being immediately and continuously reusable. During the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and America, advances in metallurgy allowed sculptors to work in iron and to cast steel. At the same time, the Japanese were developing a metal-working technique called Mokune-Gane, which uses heat and high pressure to fuse different types of metals together. This was the process used to create samurai swords, Sculptors took advantage of the interesting marble or burl effects of the process.
ContemporaryMetal sculpture continues to be a popular medium from monumental abstract works by Henry Moore to delicate, intricate wire sculptures by Elizabeth Berrien.
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Metal sculpture has a long history and developed independently in many parts of the world. Bronze has been the metal used most often in creating sculpture. Metal sculpture differs from stone or wood sculpture in that it is generally an additive, rather than a subtractive, process. Metal can be melted and poured, heated and fused, hammered or riveted to create sturdy, long-lasting works of art.