COPPER CULTURE
Lost-wax casting
2018-11-27
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Lost-wax casting, also known as "investment casting," is a precision casting method for metal objects such as bronze. The process involves making a model of the casting with beeswax, then filling the core with other refractory materials and forming an outer mold. After heating and baking, the wax model completely melts away, leaving the entire casting model as a hollow shell. Molten liquid is then poured into it to cast the object. Objects cast using the lost-wax method can be exquisitely delicate and have openwork effects
The principle of lost-wax casting technology in China originated from the "burn-out method" (焚失法), which first appeared in the mid-to-late Shang Dynasty. This technique gradually disappeared after the emergence of the "lost-wax casting without parting lines." The bronze zun and pan unearthed from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suixian, Hubei, are the earliest known lost-wax castings in China, dating to the 5th century BC
The history of lost-wax casting in China can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The earliest bronze artifact cast using the lost-wax method is the "Xiong Shen Yu" (盂) of King Gong of Chu. Additionally, the mid-Spring and Autumn period bronze "Cloud-Patterned Jin" (云纹铜禁) unearthed from the Chu tomb at Xiasi, Xichuan, and the Warring States period bronze "Pan Zun" (盘尊) from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng unearthed at Leigudun, Suizhou, are also typical examples of lost-wax casting
From the Han and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the lost-wax method was inherited and developed by generations of artisans, enduring for a long time. Even today, it remains a commonly used bronze casting technique
Operating process
Pit modeling is used; the mold material is prepared from wax and tallow. The molding material consists of lime ternary soil and charcoal mud, and the ratio of wax to copper material used is one to ten. The molten metal is poured through a channel. For large-batch components, to improve efficiency, wax sheets are first pressed with patterns on a template, and then assembled into a mold. The "Xuande Ding Yi Pu" records that yellow wax was used as a mold blank for casting Xuande censers in the Ming Dynasty. Some large-volume tripods and censers would have applied this method. A large amount of historical evidence indicates that the lost-wax method has been continuously applied in China, and in modern times, it has been widely circulated in provinces and regions such as Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Tibet. Places like Foshan and Suzhou still use the aforementioned traditional techniques to produce artistic castings today
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