Lost-wax casting

Abstract: The origins of southern Levantine Chalcolithic copper metallurgy have been debated for decades. Typological and metallurgical examinations of the copper artifacts from the Nahal Mishmar hoard and elsewhere have indicated a dichotomy between simple tools, made of pure copper by open casting, and elaborate items made by the “lost wax” technique of copper alloys with arsenic, antimony, and nickel. While the first were considered local production of the northern Negev sites, the prestige objects were either considered as imports from the remote sources of arsenic copper, or local to the southern Levant. The present paper presents the results of a research project that was aimed at examining this issue through the analysis of ceramic mold remains that were still attached to a large number of copper implements from Israel. The En Gedi area in the Judean Desert of Israel is identified as the place of origin of all copper objects produced by this method. Based on the results, some new interpretations are suggested to the complex topic of Chalcolithic copper metallurgy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract: The origins of lost wax or investment casting, often known as cire perdue, and still the most accurate and reliable means of reproducing complex shapes in gold or other metals with all the fine detail of an original pattern, go back to the very first civilisations in the Near East and to a combination of primitive art, religion and metallurgy. The historical development of the process and its several variations are reviewed here as well as its transmission to other parts of the world.