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Foundry

The building or place where the casting of bronze takes place by the lost-wax, sand casting or ceramic shell processes. Typically a foundry will have subdivisions of activities taking place. Most often these break down to mould making or the making of a negative container, then the pouring of wax into the moulds, cleaning up the seams from the wax, then making a core, spruing and gating the wax cast of the sculpture with wax strips or rods (sprues and gates) which will ensure the smooth arrival of the molten metal into the negative space formed when the wax is "lost", encasing the entire piece into an investment, then "losing" the wax out of the invested piece by firing it, finally pouring the molten bronze into the main sprue, hacking away the investment material, cutting off the bronze sprues and gates, chasing away any other unwanted bronze (or filling in any holes), chiseling, and then either polishing, or applying a patina and or wax to the sculpture. Mounting the final piece on a base is sometimes also an intricate part of the foundry's work. Foundries will often assist a sculptor with the installation and securing of large pieces.

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  • Part of Speech: noun
  • Synonym(s):
  • Blossary:
  • Industry/Domain: Arts & crafts
  • Category: Sculpture
  • Company:
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