Bronze is
a metal alloy. Bronze is mostly copper, with some tin added (generally 5% to 20%) to
make it stronger. When two words are used to name an alloy, and one of the
words is Bronze, this means the alloy is made mostly from copper. When an
alloy is called only ‘Bronze’, it means the alloy of copper and tin. Sometimes
the alloy is made in combination of other metals like Aluminum, Led, Silicon or
Phosphor. They are named as ‘Aluminum Bronze’, ‘Leaded Bronze’, ‘Silicon Bronze’, and ‘Phosphor Bronze’
respectively. Bronze is more fusible (i.e., more readily
melted) and is hence easier to cast. It is also harder than pure iron and
far more resistant to corrosion.
Bronze was the first alloy
that was used by humans. The
archeological period in which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is
known as the Bronze
Age. The Bronze
Age is a pre historic period, approximately 3300 BC to 1200 BC. An ancient civilization
is defined to be in the Bronze Age. During the Harappa Civilization, the religion
was propagated and brought to the people through the mobile images of gods and
goddess in bronze. Exquisite Bronzes which are considered as grand exposition
of Indian art were made during this medieval period.
Each
Bronze statue is made by traditional technique of lost wax. In this process a
wax mould of the sculpture is created. All the carving and detailing is done on
this wax model. The wax model is covered with layers of very fine clay. The
model is open at bottom and top. It is again covered with thick layer of
mixture of clay, cow dung and rice husk and left to dry. The model is heated on
high temperature allowing the melted wax to drain from the bottom opening. The
empty apace created by lst wax is filled with melted metal, which is heated on
very high temperature. The melted metal (Bronze) is very skillfully poured into
the clay mould from the top opening. During this process the mould is
continuously kept heated to spread the metal evenly. This is the most crucial stage and requires
skilled craftsmanship. The piece is allowed to cool and after few days the
outer shell of clay mould is broken and the metal sculpture is revealed. This
metal sculpture is finally engraved and polished by skilled craftsman resulting
into a beautiful Bronze sculpture.
