Editing Repoussé and chasing (section)

== History ==
The techniques of repoussé and chasing date from Antiquity and have been used widely with [[gold]] and [[silver]] for fine detailed work and with [[copper]], [[tin]], and [[bronze]] for larger sculptures.

===European prehistory and Bronze Age===
During the 3rd millennium BC, in the Middle East, a variety of semi-mass production methods were introduced to avoid repetitive free-hand work. With the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved in ''intaglio'' in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as [[jet (lignite)|jet]].  The gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly, by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it.

The alternative to pressing gold sheet into a die is to work it over a design in cameo relief.  Here the detail would be greater on the back of the final design, so some final chasing from the front was often carried out to sharpen the detail.

The use of patterned punches dates back to the first half of the [[2nd millennium BC]], if not far earlier. The simplest patterned punches were produced by loops or scrolls of wire.

The [[Gundestrup cauldron]] (a product of the [[Celts|Celtic]] culture, made between 150 BC and 1 AD) had originally thirteen separate silver panels, with repoussé [[relief]], lining the inside and outside of the vessel.

===Ancient Egypt===
In 1400 BC, the Egyptian [[Amarna]] period, resin and mud for repoussé backing was in use.

A fine example of Egyptian repoussé is the mummy mask of [[Tutankhamun]], a [[Pharaoh]] of the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty]]. The majority of the mask was formed using the technique of repoussé from what appears to be a single sheet of gold. The lapis lazuli and other stones were inlaid in chased areas after the height of the form was completed.  The ceremonial beard, [[Nekhbet]] vulture, and [[Uraeus]] were attached separately.

===Classical antiquity===
[[Image:Byzantine - Chalice with Apostles Venerating the Cross - Walters 57636 - Profile.jpg|thumb| One of twenty-three silver altar vessels believed to have been found in the Syrian village of Kurin.  Silver repoussé, partially gilt.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
 |url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/9463
 |title=Chalice with Apostles Venerating the Cross}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]] 
By [[Hellenistic]] times, combined punches and dies were in use. In 400 BC, the Greeks were using beeswax for filler in repoussé.

Classical pieces using repoussage and chasing include the [[bronze]] [[Greece|Greek]] armour plates from the 3rd century BC. 

The [[Warren Cup]] is a Roman silver cup, and the [[Mildenhall Treasure]], the [[Hoxne Hoard]], the [[Water Newton Treasure]] and the [[Berthouville Treasure]] are examples of [[hoard]]s of Roman silver found in [[England]] and northern [[France]] with many pieces using these techniques. Another example piece using this technique is [[Rhyton#Gallery|The Stag’s Head Rhyton]], dating to around 400 BCE, which is made from a silver sheet and features three scenes of warriors battling, each scene with two warriors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/07/us-billionaire-michael-steinhardt-surrenders-70m-dollars-stolen-art|first=Dalya|last=Alberge|work=www.theguardian.com|title=US billionaire surrenders $70m of stolen art|date=December 7, 2021|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.georgeortiz.com/objects/greek-world-cont/152-rhyton-stag-s-head-classical/|work=www.georgeortiz.com|title=152. Rhyton (stag's head) - Classical|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/06/hedge-fund-pioneer-michael-steinhardt-surrenders-stolen-antiquities-vance-says-.html|first1=Dan|last1=Mangan|first2=Jim|last2=Forkin|title=Hedge-fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt surrenders 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70 million, Manhattan DA Vance says|website=[[CNBC]] |date=December 6, 2021|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref>

===India===
Repoussé and chasing are commonly used in [[India]] to create objects such as water vessels. These vessels are generally made using sheets of [[copper]] or [[silver]].

===Pre-Columbian America===
Repoussage and chasing were used by many Pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, such as the [[Chavín culture]] of [[Peru]] (about 900 to 200 BC), to make ornaments of gold and other metals.

During the [[Hopewell tradition|Hopewell]] and [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian]] periods of the American [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]] and [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] goods of repoussé copper were fashioned as ritual regalia and eventually used in prestige burials.<ref>{{cite book | last = Power | first = Susan | title = Early Art of the Southeastern Indians-Feathered Serpents and Winged Beings | url = https://archive.org/details/earlyartofsouthe0000powe | url-access = registration | publisher = [[University of Georgia Press]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8203-2501-5}}</ref> Examples have been found with many S.E.C.C. designs such as [[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex#Motifs|Bi-lobed arrow motif]] headdresses and [[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex#Birdman|falcon dancer]] plaques. Although examples have been found in a widely scattered area ([[Spiro Mounds|Spiro]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Etowah plates|Etowah]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[Moundville Archaeological Site|Moundville]], [[Alabama]]), most are in what is known as the ''[[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex#Mississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere horizons|Braden Style]]'', thought to have originated at the [[Cahokia]] Site in [[Collinsville, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1=F. Kent Reilly |editor2=James Garber | title = Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientobjectssa0000unse |url-access=registration | publisher = [[University of Texas Press]] | year = 2004|isbn=978-0-292-71347-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |  last = Townsend | first = Richard F. |  title = Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand | publisher = [[Yale University Press]] | year = 2004 |  isbn = 0-300-10601-7}}</ref> Several copper workshops discovered during excavations of [[Mound 34]] at Cahokia are the only known Mississippian culture copper workshops.<ref name=PAWLACZYK>{{ citation| last= Pawlaczyk| first= George| author-link=George Pawlaczyk |url= http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.archaeology/2010-02/msg00225.html|title=Copper men: Archaeologists uncover Stone Age copper workshop near Monk's Mound | date=Feb 16, 2010| access-date=2010-11-08 }}</ref><ref name=KELLY2009>{{cite tech report | url= http://cahokiamounds.org/explore/mound34_report2008.pdf | title= Summary of 2008 Field Excavations to Locate the Copper Workshop in the Mound 34 Area | author1= Kelly, John  E. | author2 = Kelly, Lucretia S. | author3 = Brown, James | institution= Central Mississippi Valley Archaeological Research Institute | year=2009}}</ref>

===Modern works===
The largest known [[sculpture]] created with this technique is the [[Statue of Liberty]], properly ''Liberté éclairant le monde'', ("Liberty Enlightening The World"), in [[Upper New York Bay]]. The statue was formed by [[copper]] repoussé in sections using wooden structures to shape each piece during the hammering process. 
<gallery>
File:Rawnsley shield.jpg|Arts and Crafts repousse shield made by [[Keswick School of Industrial Art]], UK, 1895
File:Repujado- caballo griego alestilo del período geométrico, por el artista mexicano Manolo Vega, 2011.jpg|Repoussè on tin sheet – "Greek horse" by Mexican artist Manolo Vega, 2011
File:Statueofliberty.jpg|The Statue of Liberty, New York (NY)
File:Construction of the Statue2.jpg|Construction of The Statue of Liberty
</gallery>