Bronze sculpture

It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture.

Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould.

[1] Their strength and ductility (lack of brittleness) is an advantage when figures in action poses are to be created, especially when compared to various ceramic or stone materials (such as marble sculpture).

As recently as 2007 several life sized bronze sculptures by John Waddell were stolen, probably due to the value of the metal after the work has been melted.

[2] The great civilizations of the old world worked in bronze for art, from the time of the introduction of the alloy for tools and edged weapons.

Dancing Girl from Mohenjo-daro, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation and dating back to c. 2500 BCE, is perhaps the first known bronze statue.

Over the long creative period of Egyptian dynastic art, small lost-wax bronze figurines were made in large numbers; several thousand of them have been conserved in museum collections.

After the metal has cooled, the external ceramic or clay is chipped away, revealing an image of the wax form, including core pins, sprues, vents, and risers.

From the final scale model, measuring devices are used to determine the dimensions of an armature for the structural support of a full-size temporary piece, which is brought to rough form by wood, cardboard, plastic foam, and/or paper to approximately fill the volume while keeping the weight low.

After final polishing, corrosive materials may be applied to form a patina, a process that allows some control over the colour and finish.

Ormolu was popularized in the 18th century in France and is found in such forms as wall sconces (wall-mounted candle holders), inkstands, clocks and garnitures.

Ormolu wares can be identified by a clear ring when tapped, showing that they are made of bronze, not a cheaper alloy such as spelter or pewter.

The Victorious Youth (between 4th-2nd centuries BC), is a water-preserved bronze from ancient Greece.
Chinese ritual bronze , a Late Shang dǐng .
Benin bronze of a woman's head, 16th century AD.
Gilt-bronze doors of the Baptistry of Florence Cathedral ( Lorenzo Ghiberti , 1401–22).
9th-century bronze vessel in form of a snail shell excavated in Igbo-Ukwu,(part of igbo tribe in Nigeria) .
Chola bronze of Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi as the goddess Parvati .
A monumental conical pendulum clock by Eugène Farcot with a patinated bronze statue.