When you think of “bronze casting,” what terms come to mind? You may think of the words “powerful” or “ancient,” or even “elegant.” Undoubtedly, Bronze is an extraordinary, versatile metal, and at Frank Billanti Casting Co., professional craftspeople are passionate about the art of lost-wax bronze casting—which is an intricate process of filling and setting a mold with common bronze alloys. Based in New York City’s Midtown district, founder Frank Billanti and his team are dedicated to each and every project they complete. Below, they tell you everything you need to know about the craft of bronze casting. As stated above, bronze casting is associated with ancient societies. The first bronze was cast, by accident, in the third millennium B.C.
As the name suggests the Bronze Age is a period of human culture, in which civilizations heavily used copper and bronze for various aspects of life and trading. The beginning of the Bronze Age is estimated to date before 3000 BCE in parts of Med. Europe, Middle East and China. Knossos and Mycenae are both archeological sites, and date back to the Bronze Age. Knossos was the capital of the ancient Minoan civilization; located on the island of Crete. Mycenae was a massive fortified palace, located between two hills on the plain of the Peloponnese, Greece.
Silver has always been around but it wasn't until the 1500's to the mid 1700's that the
However, only one of those elements would be strong enough to support the force of another man reigning death among his enemies, thus bronze is the only choice for an infantry weapon. The mining of bronze in Ancient Greece ultimately led to significant
The Shang Dynasty invented and, over the years, perfected the technique of casting a bronze vessel from a clay mold assembly, which this wine vessel has also been made from using those techniques (Cantor). This mold was formed around a model of the vessel and was then cut into sections that were carved or impressed in the desired design, in this case the braided or grid design, on the inner or outer surfaces. The decorated clay piece-mold was then fired and reassembled around a clay core. Small bronze spacers were used to hold the piece-mold and the clay core apart. Then, molten bronze was poured into the mold. Using this piece-mold casting technique helped the bronze worker to achieve greater sharpness and definition in any intricate design
The Bronze Age in Greece was a period of time in which their civilization flourished. They were a main power at the time and seemed to have everything they wanted in the palm of their hands. Many other civilizations have a period of time also known as the Bronze Age, however, the bronze age of Greece is widely known to be the most prolific and dominant in history. The Greece Bronze Age is estimated to have lasted from between 8th to 6th century BC to about 146BC. Nobody knows for sure the exact time period in which it began and ended. However, these are the dates that are most widely known to be accurate. No other civilization has been able to remain a dominant world power longer than this time period, which is why this is such an incredible period of history.
Bronzes are made by making two molds (one larger than the other), pouring melted bronze in...
The Bronze Age ended at the beginning of the twelfth century in a collapse that appears to have been both sudden and difficult to define. A key reason that the cause of this collapse is so difficult to identify is because the collapse was so wide spread and complete. The groups we would look to for evidence on this event ceased existing, from the residents of Crete to the Greek mainland, removing their recording capabilities. We have archeological evidence, in the form of ruined cities, but most written records that provide insight into the collapse of the Bronze Age and the events of the world are Egyptian in origin, and thus are limited in their scope and reliability. In fact, these Egyptian records at
The earliest evidence of welding dates back to the Bronze Age. The earliest examples of welding that have been found to date are welded gold boxes belonging to civilizations that thrived during the bronze age. There is evidence supporting the fact that even the Egyptians developed a form of welding. Several of their iron tools were made by welding. During the Middle Ages, a set of blacksmiths came to the forefront, crafting tools, weapons and other necessities. Blacksmiths of the Middle Ages welded various types of iron tools by hammering. The welding methods remained more or less unchanged until the 19th century. Where welding methods began to resemble conventional welding processes through innovations made through
Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Because it is so common, iron has been used by human society for thousands of years. Iron was known and used for weapons in prehistoric ages, the earliest example still in existence; a group of rusty iron beads found in Egypt, dates from about 4000BC. This period in history was given the name Iron Age because it was the time when people found ways to get iron and to use it for building tools and weapons.
Black-figure painting was first established in Corinth, c 700 BCE then Athens was influenced by the technique and got control over it (Cartwright, 2012). The entire process was made out of iron clay found in the area mixed with potash pigment, water and leave it evaporate under the sun until it’s thick and settle. Move on to wedging process where human used energy to make the clay combine together and create the smoothness. The forms of potter are made on the potter wheel and are control by human’s hands, which is fascinating because people will have respect toward a finished product. After shaping the entire form, it’s then bake inside a kiln until it turns black (Britannica, 2014). Black-figure painting usually presents a storytelling by depicting animals or people in silhouette and sometime th...
They were deemed highly covetable by collectors globally, and in turn, the collectors of the nineteenth century pushed up the price of these artefacts by battling it out in auctions. This is shown in the following extract from AA100 Book Three; “Museums, private collectors, art historians and scholars [...] were quick to realise the significance of the Benin artworks and competed to acquire the best pieces.” Henry Roth, as a museum curator, is not excluded from this list and his excitement can be gauged by his choice of lexis in the following excerpt; “When on the return of the members of the Punitive Expedition it became known that fine specimens of bronze casting [...]”, this use of 'fine', and other language throughout, displays not only his appreciation of their aesthetic values as individual pieces of craftsmanship but also of the physical value held by Roth over the bronze castings. (Loftus and Wood, 2008, pg. 45), (Reading 2.3 in Loftus and Wood, 2008,
Stainless steel is a type of alloy that has a very strong lattice structure (an arrangement/ shape of the crystals or other objects) which in some case can be more beneficial than others depending on the type of application it may be used for. In many cases this structure will make the material more suited to being used in engineering applications such as tools for instance a hammer (stainless steel alloys) , also they can be used for gears, engines, electrical motors and hydraulic systems because the structure makes the material so strong. So when the arrangement of the structure is as above it makes the overall material even stronger which makes it a good for all the applications stated above. I believe its strength and durability are its main properties as these are commonly needed in the engineering industry, although it is also very well known to be used for its corrosion resistance as it is resistant to many types of corrosion. It is used for these properties because the components such as gears need to be strong in order to keep transferring and altering the rotary motion and torque exhibited in the machine that it may be used in, durable to withstand any loads or pressure put onto it and also corrosion resistance to give the components a bigger life span and increase its rate of work throughout its required use.
However, this was not always the case, as there were also non-church sculptures, in which classical mythology was featured. At that time, gold and silver were rarely used because of the higher importance of bronze as it is ductile and highly durable. Also it looks brilliant when it is gilded. However, those characteristics took place mostly in High Renaissance as the sculptors overcame the fact that bronze-casting was crude. Furthermore, in Renaissance the sculptural techniques that were used by the sculptors were highly similar with those used by Roman and Greek sculptors. But in Renaissance, the ethos was much more pictorial, which means that written designs were
Metals possess many unique fundamental properties that make them an ideal material for use in a diverse range of applications. Many common place things know today are made from metals; bridges, utensils, vehicles of all modes of transport, contain some form of metal or metallic compound. Properties such as high tensile strength, high fracture toughness, malleability and availability are just some of the many advantages associated with metals. Metals, accompanied by their many compounds and alloys, similar properties, high and low corrosion levels, and affects, whether negative or positive, are a grand force to be reckoned with.
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life” (Picasso). These words about the fine arts describe not only life in general, but also apply to everyday life of public school students. Many students need something to divert their attention away from jaded academics that cause them stress and mental deterioration. Fine arts are the solution to that problem; unlike academics and athletics, they provide an outlet for students to be creative and discover their talents without the pressure other courses produce. Additionally, the arts stimulate the brain, and generally promote positive brain activity and development in teenagers. So, if fine arts positively affect students, then why are they so