Editing Repoussé and chasing (section)

===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.