Lost wax method

DEFINITION

A method used to make sculpture that dates back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. After the original piece is created, usually in clay, the sculpture is taken to a foundry where: 1)A plaster mold is made of the original. 2)A gelatin mold is made from the plaster mold. 3)The inside of the gelatin mold is coated with molten wax to form a hollow wax mold that is packed with sand. 4)The sculptor can touch up or correct the piece. 5)Rods of wax are attached to the wax model. 6)The entire figure is covered in heat resistant plaster or clay. 7)Metal pins are inserted to keep the object in place. 8)The whole structure is placed in an oven and baked until the plaster mold has become dry, and the hot wax has been released through the vents created by the melting of the wax rods. 9)The mold is then packed in sand. 10)Bronze is poured through vents in the space left by the melted or lost wax. 11)Cooled, the cast is shed of the inner sand. 12)It is cleaned and finished. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"