Metalwork

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Chinese Bronzes

In China bronze appears to have been used almost exclusively for bells, mirrors, and vessels in a variety of prescribed forms for distinct functions in religious rites, as well as for weapons and for the decoration of horse trappings and chariots. This first Bronze Age in China lasted from about 1800 bc to the end of the Qin dynasty (221-206 bc). The bronze ritual vessels are especially admired for the nobility of their forms and the vigor of their abstract linear decoration. The decoration consists of highly conventionalized and attenuated masks and mythical monster forms, such as dragons. These vessels were cast from molds prepared with the decoration cut and incised on the inner face, resulting in equivalent projections on the cast vessel.

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European Bronzes

After bronze was superseded by iron for weapons, it remained in use in Europe as an artist's medium. Greek bronze statues, vases, and wine vessels, sometimes of large size and elaborately gilded, were greatly admired in Rome. The wandering tribes who gradually superseded Roman power in Europe (including Italy), also appreciated bronze, but used it more often for portable items such as shields and bowls as well as for buckles and brooches (often inlaid with colored stones or opaque enamel). In church furnishings, bronze continued to be used for larger pieces, such as candlesticks, baptismal fonts, and coffers. Perhaps the most famous bronze sculptures of the Renaissance are Lorenzo Ghiberti's sumptuously ornamental gilded bronze doors—the Gates of Paradise (1425-1452)—for the Baptistery at Florence, consisting of ten self-contained rectangular panels of biblical scenes cast in high relief. Many other Renaissance artists used this medium for smaller cast figure sculptures, often inspired by antique works of the classical era; this prime use for bronze has persisted to the present day.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, and especially in France, gilt bronze attachments—called ormolu—in the form of projecting and richly decorated cast mounts on edgings, drawers, and feet, were added to luxury furniture.

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African Bronzes

In Nigeria, between the 14th and 16th centuries, cast bronze sculptures of extreme refinement were made at Benin in a highly developed artistic convention unrelated to European styles.

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Copper

A large statue (c. 2300 bc, Egyptian Museum, Cairo) of the 6th-dynasty king Pepi I (reigned about 2289-2255 bc), made from hammered sheet copper, provides evidence that copper may have been more extensively used for fine art than is commonly supposed.

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Copper in the Ancient World

In Egypt and elsewhere in the ancient world, copper was superseded for weapons and tools by bronze and quickly became relegated to the realm of a useful metal for dishes, cups, and light domestic utensils. It was important, however, as the necessary ingredient for bronze and later as a toughener for silver and gold, although added in small proportions (sterling has 7.5 percent copper).