Authentication is the process of proving something to be valid. It is the action of confirming that the bronze sculpture you are considering purchasing is what it is purported to be.
Bronze sculpture as a method of expression of art has been with us for a very long time. During the historic period known as the bronze age (approximately 3300 BC to 1200 BC) civilizations learned to combine the element copper with the elements tin and/or arsenic to produce a metal alloy that was far stronger than copper alone. This made bronze a superior alloy for the making of tools and weapons, and the process was inevitably adapted for the casting of bronze sculpture.
Of course in major ways the technical production processes have evolved over time, but the basic concepts remain the same – generate sufficient heat to reduce ore into a molten state, pour the molten metal into a mold that holds the negative impression of the sculpture you wish to produce, remove the cooled metal from the mold, and finish the metal sculpture as desired.
Modern foundry methods have enhanced these procedures. Among the advances include natural gas and electric ore melting furnaces, the development of bronze alloys with physical characteristics more suited to sculpture casting, TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding, plasma cutters that can cut through metal sprues in seconds, electric and air powered grinding and finishing tools, and hand operated gas torches used to heat the finished bronze to give it its desired patina.
All of these developments provide clues in the authentication of a bronze sculpture.
For example, a welded place on the bronze would obviously negate the possibility of its having been produced before welding machines were invented. A spear in the hand of a sculpted figure that is held in place by epoxy was obviously not produced in the 1800’s, before epoxy was invented.
The clues are numerous and often not discernable to the untrained eye.
The artworld is replete with misrepresentations, forgeries, and unauthorized reproductions. A bronze sculpture can best be authenticated by an expert trained in this specialty, who can recognize these clues, and can attempt to verify the provenance (historical record) of the sculpture.
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