Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-08-12
SEAMLESS STATUARY
Lost Art of the Greeks Being En-
 ployed in Indianapolis.
German Sculptor of That City Secures Newly Discovered Secret
 and Turns Out Big BPOnZea.

.
 The lost art of the Greeks, by which they cast seamless bronze statues, is being employed in Indianapolis, says the Indianapolis News. It was only a few years ago that German sculptors, whc had been knocking at the door of the secret for many years, found the key to 1t and began to turn out seamless
 bronzes themselves quite as perfect in detail as the old Greeks themselves ever turned out, Rudolph Schwartz, the In- dianapolis sculptor, who became tired of sending his casts east, as all western scHlptors have to do for large castings, last fall began to build a bronze casting furnace at the side of his studio. He inn ported German bronze casters and with them the newly discovered secret of the Greeks. Several small castings have been made at the Indianapolis plant but it was not until the last month that big ton, ton and half and two ton cast ings were made. rs
 The big ten-ton 13-foot seated statue of the late Gov. Pingree, of Michigan
 which is just now being completed in In- dianapolis for the city of Detroit, is the first big statue that has been trued out in Indianapolis and in the west by the new ly discovered process By the process the original cast. in which the bronze is generally poured is used in making perfect statue in white wax: The mold is broken away and the wax is in spected for detail lines and defects are corrected. Another mold is made on this wax cast The material used in mak- ing this mold is proof against heat and when thoroughly set and dried on this perfect wax statue hole is made in the base of it and it is placed over a slow heat, which thoroughly bakes the mold. and, heating the wax onsthe inside, re- duces it to a liquid state so it will ruI out of the opening. When the wax is thoroughly melted out perfect hollow mold is left for the bronze to run into. This mold is Duried and tamped so that every point has strong resistance. The bronze is then poured and when it sets the, mold is broken away and a seamless bronze is the result ls 4
 In making as large bronze as the Pingree statue, it was necessary to cut it in several pieces. In doing this the wax statue was of even greater service than in making a single casting, as it was cut in sections following the lines of the deep seams and folds in the cos tune. The quartering process can be done so skillful1y that when the cast ings are made and the pieces assembled they fit and dovetail. into these natural crevices in the statue and almost defy detection. ~ Several of the pieces of the Pingree statue which have been poured" dur ing the last week. weigh. over: 2,500 pounds. There is an element of danger iE this work for molds have been known to break, turning the stream of molten metal loose. Many lives have been lost in bronze casting factories, but no serious accident has happened in the new Indianapolis plant. as yet. The ''pourings," as a rule, are made in the evening and the scenes are more spectacular than even those at iron foundries. The process; in the rough is much the same, however, but requires much more skill, for failure on 2,5O0- pound bronze cast means heavy loss.