Metalworking in Bronze age China
Subtitle: the lost-wax process
By: Peng Peng
Series: Cambria sinophone world series; Cambria sinophone world series
Publisher: Cambria Press
Published: 2020
Place of publication: Amherst, New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 477
ISBN-13: 9781621964803; 9781621964797; 9781604979626
Subjects: Chinese Bronzes; Precision casting; History; Bronze founding; Technological innovations; Bronzes chinois; Moulage à la cire perdue; Histoire; Bronze; Fonderie; Innovations
Description: "This is the first study that adopts a comprehensive, thorough, and interdisciplinary approach toward early Chinese lost-wax castings. With more than 80 images, this book provides a study on the "norms," which are seldom questioned. By examining the reasons why Chinese founders often chose not to use the lost-wax process they had clearly mastered, the book refutes the idea that lost-wax technology is the only "right way" to cast bronzes. This study demonstrates that a "norm" is in many ways an illusion that twists our comprehension of art, technology, civilization, and history"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: What is lost-wax casting?; title: Metalworking in Bronze age China; title: Was lost-wax casting used in Bronze age China?; title: Further confirmed lost-wax castings I; title: Further confirmed lost-wax castings II; title: Further confirmed lost-wax castings III; title: Design as the driving force; title: The origin of the lost-wax technique in Bronze age China; title: Coda.