The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, with lead also added. Hellenistic and Roman bronze objects have a variable percentage of metals, and because of this the colour of the alloy will differ depending on the proportions. The colour of the alloy can be maintained by polishing, but it is also possible...

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Autor principal:	Jonathan Devogelaere
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	EXARC 2017
Materias:	experimental archaeology bronze metallurgy copper colour bronze age france Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/09d34c5445ca42829aebc038243b4e8d
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:09d34c5445ca42829aebc038243b4e8d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:09d34c5445ca42829aebc038243b4e8d2021-12-01T14:42:32ZThe Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project2212-8956https://doaj.org/article/09d34c5445ca42829aebc038243b4e8d2017-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10289https://doaj.org/toc/2212-8956Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, with lead also added. Hellenistic and Roman bronze objects have a variable percentage of metals, and because of this the colour of the alloy will differ depending on the proportions. The colour of the alloy can be maintained by polishing, but it is also possible to give a patina to the surface of bronze using a reagent. Other metals and alloys (copper, silver, gold, Corinthian bronze) can be inlaid by damascening, or by plating to create polychrome decorations. Unfortunately, copper alloy materials recovered from archaeological sites suffer from the effects of time and deposition, which may lead to corrosion and discolouring of the surface, often appearing green or brown. Archaeological bronzes also may suffer from overly aggressive restorations which scour original surfaces or cover them with a layer of paint imitating green corrosion. The collection of swatches I created gathers the spectrum of colours of antique bronzes, and allows for a restoration the original colours of the objects of my study: Greco-Roman bronze furniture. This study combines the processes of the lost wax method and the addition of polychrome bronze surfaces (patina, inlay and gilding). Some platelet samples from this collection of swatches have also been analysed to determine their elemental composition and their patina, so as to compare them to archaeological materials. Initial results suggest that the colours of bronze luxury furniture vary greatly, and that the spectrum of colours is a product of bronze alloy composition, and of the techniques used in finishing the surface, either polishing or patina application.Jonathan DevogelaereEXARCarticleexperimental archaeologybronzemetallurgycoppercolourbronze agefranceMuseums. Collectors and collectingAM1-501ArchaeologyCC1-960ENEXARC Journal, Iss 2017/2 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	experimental archaeology bronze metallurgy copper colour bronze age france Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960
spellingShingle	experimental archaeology bronze metallurgy copper colour bronze age france Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960 Jonathan Devogelaere The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
description	Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, with lead also added. Hellenistic and Roman bronze objects have a variable percentage of metals, and because of this the colour of the alloy will differ depending on the proportions. The colour of the alloy can be maintained by polishing, but it is also possible to give a patina to the surface of bronze using a reagent. Other metals and alloys (copper, silver, gold, Corinthian bronze) can be inlaid by damascening, or by plating to create polychrome decorations. Unfortunately, copper alloy materials recovered from archaeological sites suffer from the effects of time and deposition, which may lead to corrosion and discolouring of the surface, often appearing green or brown. Archaeological bronzes also may suffer from overly aggressive restorations which scour original surfaces or cover them with a layer of paint imitating green corrosion. The collection of swatches I created gathers the spectrum of colours of antique bronzes, and allows for a restoration the original colours of the objects of my study: Greco-Roman bronze furniture. This study combines the processes of the lost wax method and the addition of polychrome bronze surfaces (patina, inlay and gilding). Some platelet samples from this collection of swatches have also been analysed to determine their elemental composition and their patina, so as to compare them to archaeological materials. Initial results suggest that the colours of bronze luxury furniture vary greatly, and that the spectrum of colours is a product of bronze alloy composition, and of the techniques used in finishing the surface, either polishing or patina application.
format	article
author	Jonathan Devogelaere
author_facet	Jonathan Devogelaere
author_sort	Jonathan Devogelaere
title	The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
title_short	The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
title_full	The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
title_fullStr	The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
title_full_unstemmed	The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project
title_sort	colour palette of antique bronzes: an experimental archaeology project
publisher	EXARC
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/09d34c5445ca42829aebc038243b4e8d
work_keys_str_mv	AT jonathandevogelaere thecolourpaletteofantiquebronzesanexperimentalarchaeologyproject AT jonathandevogelaere colourpaletteofantiquebronzesanexperimentalarchaeologyproject
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The Colour Palette of Antique Bronzes: An Experimental Archaeology Project

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