|KEY WORD :@art history / sculptures|
casting. A technique used in metalwork to produce vessels or sculptures
by melting down metal and pouring it into a mould. Metals used for casting
include gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, aluminium, and a variety
of alloys. Bronze makes a particularly good casting metal and is highly
resistant to corrosion. The casting process can be divided into three stages:
i) making the mould, ii) pouring in the molten metal, iii) the finishing
stage. Stages ii) and iii) are common to all cast-metal works, but stage
i) varies, as there are a great many materials and methods which can be
used to make the casting mould igata ^. The best-known methods
1@Stone mould casting *ishigata Ξ^, which was used to make bronze objects such as the Yayoi period halberd and doutaku Ίφ (bell-shaped bronze). Molten bronze was poured into a mould carved into a block of sandstone.
2@Lost-wax casting *rougata X^ was the method used for all bronze sculptures produced from the sixth to the twelfth centuries. A clay model of the images was made as a core, and this was then covered with a layer of beeswax, on which surface features of the image were modelled. Then another layer of clay was added to make an outer shell. Pins were inserted connecting the inner and outer shell, and the entire mould was fired. The wax melted and ran out, leaving an empty space, which was filled with molten bronze. When the bronze cooled and hardened the outer shell and inner core were removed. The surface of the statue was then finished with a chisel, and often gilded with an amalgam of gold and mercury.
3@*Sougata ^ was a casting technique where the surface pattern was engraved on the inside of a clay mould and an inner core *nakago ^, also made of clay but reduced in size according to the desired thickness of the metal object, was enclosed. After firing, melted metal was poured into the space between the outer mould and the inner core. An adaptation of sougata was kezuri-nakago-chuuzou νθ^’ (casting with a scraped-off mould). A clay core was covered by a second layer of clay which formed the outer mould. The outer mould was then removed from the core, and the surface of the core was scraped away, according to the desired thickness of the object. The outer mould was then replaced and molten metal poured into the space created by the scraping, between the outer mould and inner core.
4@Replica casting *fumigaeshi ₯Τ was a method used to produce a copy of a flat, simple metal object, for example a mirror. The original object was covered with clay to make a mould. The copy was then made by casting in the clay mould. The dimensions of the duplicate were slightly smaller, and the design less clear than that of the original.
5@Another technique known as *komegata ^@(sealed mould), or warikomegata ^ (sectioned sealed mould) used a clay mould applied directly over a wood, clay, or stone model of the statue. After firing or simply drying, the mould was divided into pieces and reassembled for casting. This method permitted fine details to be reproduced on the mould, and also had the advantage that it was possible to preserve the original model undamaged.
6@The simplest casting method used in Japan, suitable for objects like coins or mirrors was the sand mould *sunagata »^. Sand was contained in a wooden or metal frame. A raw clay model of the desired object was pressed into the sand. Molten metal was then poured into the hollow impressed in the sand. This method began to be used in the Edo period. The earliest metal casting in Asia began in ancient China for making ceremonial bronze vessels, and later the technique was highly developed for the production of mirrors and Buddhist statues. In Japan important uses included Buddhist statues and implements,temple bells, mirrors, and the iron kettle used in the tea ceremony.
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