Editing Bronze

{{short description|Alloy of copper and tin}}
{{About|the metal alloy}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
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'''Bronze''' is an [[alloy]] consisting primarily of [[copper]], commonly with about 12–12.5% [[tin]] and often with the addition of other metals (including [[aluminium]], [[manganese]], [[nickel]], or [[zinc]]) and sometimes non-metals (such as [[phosphorus]]) or [[metalloids]] (such as [[arsenic]] or [[silicon]]). These additions produce a range of alloys some of which are harder than copper alone or have other useful properties, such as [[ultimate tensile strength|strength]], [[ductility]], or [[machinability]].

The [[three-age system|archaeological period]] during which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the [[Bronze Age]]. The beginning of the Bronze Age in western [[Eurasia]] and India is conventionally dated to the mid-4th [[millennium]] BCE (~3500 BCE), and to the early 2nd millennium BCE in China;<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert L. |last=Thorp |title=China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |date=2013}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the [[Iron Age]], which started about 1300 BCE and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BCE, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times.

Because historical artworks were often made of bronzes and [[brass]]es (alloys of copper and zinc) of different metallic compositions, modern museum and scholarly descriptions of older artworks increasingly use the generalized term "copper alloy" instead of the names of individual alloys. This is done (at least in part) to prevent database searches from failing merely because of errors or disagreements in the naming of historic copper alloys.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?scopeType=Terms&scopeId=18864|title=British Museum, "Scope Note" for "copper alloy"|work=British Museum|access-date=14 September 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818004043/http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?scopeType=Terms&scopeId=18864|archive-date=18 August 2014}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:HouMuWuDingFullView.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Houmuwu ding|Houmuwu ''ding'']] ({{lang-zh|s=后母戊鼎|p=Hòumǔwù dǐng}}), the heaviest [[Chinese ritual bronze]] ever found; 1300–1046 BC; [[National Museum of China]] (Beijing). This ding's name is based on the inscription in the bronze interior wall, which reads {{lang|zh-Latn|Hòumǔwù}}, meaning 'Queen Mother Wu']]
The word ''bronze'' (1730–1740) is borrowed from [[Middle French]] {{lang|frm|bronze}} (1511), itself borrowed from Italian {{lang|it|bronzo}} {{gloss|bell metal, brass}} (13th century, transcribed in [[Medieval Latin]] as {{lang|la-x-medieval|bronzium}}) from either:

* {{lang|und-Latn|bróntion}}, back-formation from [[Byzantine Greek]] {{lang|grc-Latn|brontēsíon}} ({{lang|grc|βροντησίον}}, 11th century), perhaps from {{lang|grc-Latn|Brentḗsion}} ({{lang|grc|Βρεντήσιον}}, {{gloss|[[Brindisi]]}}), reputed for its bronze;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kahane |first1=Henry |last2=Kahane |first2=Renée |date=1981 |title=Byzantium's Impact on the West: The Linguistic Evidence |journal=Illinois Classical Studies |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=395 |jstor=23062525 |jstor-access=}}</ref><ref>Originally {{cite journal |first=M.P.E. |last=Berthelot |title=Sur le nom du bronze chez les alchimistes grecs |journal=Revue archéologique |language=fr |date=1888 |pages=294–98}}</ref> or originally:
* in its earliest form from [[Persian language|Old Persian]] {{lang|fa-Latn|birinj}}, ({{lang|fa|برنج}}, {{gloss|brass}}, modern {{lang|fa-Latn|berenj}}) and {{lang|fa-Latn|piring}} ({{lang|fa|پرنگ}}) {{gloss|copper}},<ref>Originally {{cite book |first=Karl |last=Lokotsch |title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch der europäischen Wörter orientalischen Ursprungs |language=de |location=Heidelberg |publisher=Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung |date=1927 |page=1657}}</ref> from which also came [[Georgian language|Georgian]] {{lang|ka-Latn|brinǯi}} ({{lang|ka|ბრინჯი}}), [[Turkish language|Turkish]] {{lang|tr|pirinç}} from "bir" (one) "birinç" (primary), and [[Armenian language|Armenian]] {{lang|hy-Latn|brinj}} ({{lang|hy|բրինձ}}), also meaning {{gloss|bronze}}.

==History==
[[File:ALB - Hortfund Groß Gaglow.jpg|thumb|Hoard of bronze socketed axes from the [[Bronze Age]] found in modern Germany. This was the most common tool of the period, and also seems to have been used as a store of value.]]
[[File:Magical Roman Nails.jpg|thumb|Roman bronze nails with magical signs and inscriptions, 3rd-4th century AD.]]

The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects that were harder and more durable than had previously been possible. Bronze [[tool]]s, [[weapon]]s, [[armor]], and [[building material]]s such as decorative tiles were harder and more durable than their stone and copper ("[[Chalcolithic]]") predecessors. Initially, bronze was made out of copper and [[arsenic]] or from naturally or artificially mixed ores of those metals, forming [[arsenic bronze]].<ref>
{{cite book|title=A History of Metallurgy, Second Edition|last=Tylecote|first=R.F.|year=1992|publisher=Maney Publishing, for the Institute of Materials|location=London|isbn=978-1-902653-79-2|url=http://m.friendfeed-media.com/450c6f3cdc92be9e19ecd285bd7f809a9ae1d4d5|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402174311/http://m.friendfeed-media.com/450c6f3cdc92be9e19ecd285bd7f809a9ae1d4d5|archive-date=2015-04-02}}</ref>

The earliest known arsenic-copper-alloy [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] come from a Yahya Culture (Period V 3800-3400 BCE) site, at Tal-i-Iblis on the [[Iranian plateau]], and were smelted from native arsenical copper and copper-arsenides, such as [[algodonite]] and [[domeykite]].<ref name="Thornton, 2002" >{{cite journal|last1=Thornton |first1=C.|last2=Lamberg-Karlovsky |first2=C.C.|last3=Liezers|first3=M.|last4=Young|first4=S.M.M.|year=2002|title=On pins and needles: tracing the evolution of copper-based alloying at Tepe Yahya, Iran, via ICP-MS analysis of Common-place items.|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|volume=29|issue=12|pages=1451–60|ref=Thornton, 2002|doi=10.1006/jasc.2002.0809|bibcode=2002JArSc..29.1451T }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Expedition Magazine {{!}} The Early Bronze Age of Iran as Seen from Tepe Yahya |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-early-bronze-age-of-iran-as-seen-from-tepe-yahya/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |magazine=Expedition Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

The earliest tin-copper-alloy artifact has been dated to {{Circa|4650 BCE}}, in a [[Vinča culture]] site in [[Pločnik (archaeological site)|Pločnik]] ([[Serbia]]), and believed to have been smelted from a natural tin-copper ore, [[stannite]].<ref name=antiquity1312/>

Other early examples date to the late [[History of Africa#Metallurgy|4th millennium BCE]] in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Susa]] (Iran) and some ancient sites in China, [[Luristan]] (Iran), [[Tepe Sialk]] (Iran), [[Mundigak]] (Afghanistan), and [[Mesopotamia]] (Iraq).<ref name="Thornton, 2002" /><ref>{{cite book|first=Daniel T.|last=Potts|title=Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations|publisher= Athlone Press|location=London|year=1997|isbn=978-0-48593-001-6|page=169}}</ref>

Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the alloying process could be more easily controlled, and the resulting alloy was stronger and easier to cast. Also, [[Arsenic poisoning|unlike those of arsenic]], metallic tin and the fumes from tin refining are [[Tin poisoning|not toxic]].

[[Tin]] became the major non-copper ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaufman |first1=Brett |title=Metallurgy and Ecological Change in the Ancient Near East |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/28810743/Kaufman_Metallurgy_and_Ecological_Change_in_the_Ancient_Near_East__Backdirt_2011.pdf |journal=Backdirt: Annual Review |volume=2011 |page=86}}</ref> [[Ore]]s of copper and the far rarer tin are not often found together (exceptions include [[Cornwall]] in the United Kingdom, one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade with other regions. [[Tin sources and trade in ancient times]] had a major influence on the development of cultures. In Europe, a major source of tin was the British deposits of ore in [[Cornwall]], which were traded as far as [[Phoenicia]] in the eastern [[Mediterranean]]. In many parts of the world, large hoards of bronze artifacts are found, suggesting that bronze also represented a [[store of value]] and an indicator of social status. In Europe, large hoards of bronze tools, typically socketed axes (illustrated above), are found, which mostly show no signs of wear. With [[Chinese ritual bronze]]s, which are documented in the inscriptions they carry and from other sources, the case is clear. These were made in enormous quantities for elite burials, and also used by the living for ritual offerings.

===Transition to iron===
Though bronze, whose [[Vickers hardness test|Vickers hardness]] is 60–258, is generally harder than [[wrought iron]], with  a hardness of 30–80,<ref>''Smithells Metals Reference Book'', 8th Edition, ch. 22</ref> the [[Bronze Age]] gave way to the [[Iron Age]] after a serious disruption of the tin trade: the [[Late Bronze Age collapse|population migrations of around 1200–1100 BCE]] reduced the shipment of tin around the Mediterranean and from Britain, limiting supplies and raising prices.<ref>{{cite web |first=Clayton E. |last=Cramer |url=http://www.claytoncramer.com/unpublished/Iron2.pdf |title=What Caused The Iron Age?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228194159/http://www.claytoncramer.com/unpublished/Iron2.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-28 |website=claytoncramer.com |date=10 December 1995}}</ref> As the art of working in iron improved, iron became cheaper and improved in quality. As later cultures advanced from hand-[[wrought iron]] to machine-[[Finery forge|forged iron]] (typically made with [[trip hammer]]s powered by water), blacksmiths also learned how to make [[steel]], which is stronger and harder than bronze and holds a sharper edge longer.<ref>{{cite web |first1=O. D. |last1=Sherby |first2=J. |last2=Wadsworth |url=http://www.llnl.gov/tid/lof/documents/pdf/238547.pdf |title=Ancient Blacksmiths, the Iron Age, Damascus Steels, and Modern Metallurgy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626190201/http://www.llnl.gov/tid/lof/documents/pdf/238547.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-26 |series=Thermec 2000 |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |location=Las Vegas, Nevada |date=2000 |access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref> Bronze was still used during the Iron Age and has continued in use for many purposes to the modern day.

==Composition==
[[File:Bronze bell with visible material structure.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze bell with a visible [[crystallite]] structure.]]
There are many different bronze alloys, but typically modern bronze is about 88% [[copper]] and 12% [[tin]].<ref>Knapp, Brian. (1996) ''Copper, Silver and Gold''. Reed Library, Australia.</ref> ''Alpha bronze'' consists of the alpha [[solid solution]] of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins, springs, [[turbine]]s and blades. Historical "bronzes" are highly variable in composition, as most metalworkers probably used whatever scrap was on hand; the metal of the 12th-century English [[Gloucester Candlestick]] is bronze containing a mixture of copper, [[zinc]], tin, [[lead]], [[nickel]], [[iron]], [[antimony]], [[arsenic]] and an unusually large amount of [[silver]] – between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in the pan below the candle. The proportions of this mixture suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins. The 13th-century [[Benin Bronzes]] are in fact brass, and the 12th-century [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] [[Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège]] is sometimes described as bronze and sometimes as [[brass]].

During the Bronze Age, two forms of bronze were commonly used: "classic bronze", about 10% tin, was used in casting; "mild bronze", about 6% tin, was hammered from ingots to make sheets. Bladed weapons were primarily cast from classic bronze while helmets and armor were hammered from mild bronze.

Modern commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and architectural bronze (57% copper, 3% lead, 40% zinc) are more properly regarded as brass alloys because they contain zinc as the main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in architectural applications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/copper_alloys/intro.html|title=Copper alloys|access-date=14 September 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911022109/http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/copper_alloys/intro.html|archive-date=11 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/standard-designations/introduction.html|title=CDA UNS Standard Designations for Wrought and Cast Copper and Copper Alloys: Introduction|access-date=14 September 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924132326/http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/standard-designations/introduction.html|archive-date=24 September 2013}}</ref> Plastic bronze contains a significant quantity of lead, which makes for improved plasticity,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/plastic+bronze |title=plastic bronze |encyclopedia=The Free Encyclopedia |access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref> and may have been used by the ancient Greeks in ship construction.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/1095-9270.12001 | volume=42 | issue=1 | title=The Belgammel Ram, a Hellenistic-Roman BronzeProembolionFound off the Coast of Libya: test analysis of function, date and metallurgy, with a digital reference archive | year=2012 | journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology | pages=60–75 | last1=Adams | first1=Jonathan R. | url=http://www.don-simmonds.co.uk/oliver/ijna12001.pdf | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828133417/http://www.don-simmonds.co.uk/oliver/ijna12001.pdf | archive-date=2016-08-28 | citeseerx=10.1.1.738.4024 | s2cid=39339094 }}</ref> {{vanchor|[[Silicon bronze]]}} has a composition of Si: 2.80–3.80%, Mn: 0.50–1.30%, Fe: 0.80% max., Zn: 1.50% max., Pb: 0.05% max., Cu: balance.<ref>{{Cite book|title = ASTM B124 / B124M – 15|publisher = ASTM International|year = 2015}}</ref> Other bronze alloys include [[aluminium bronze]], [[phosphor bronze]], manganese bronze, [[bell metal]], [[arsenical bronze]], [[speculum metal]], [[bismuth bronze]], and [[cymbal alloys]].

==Properties==
Copper-based [[alloy]]s have lower [[melting point]]s than steel or iron and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent denser than steel, although alloys using [[aluminium]] or [[silicon]] may be slightly less dense. Bronze conducts heat and electricity better than most steels. Copper-base alloys are generally more costly than steels but less so than [[nickel]]-base alloys.

Bronzes are typically ductile alloys and are considerably less [[brittle]] than cast iron. Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and [[Chemical property|chemical properties]]. Some common examples are the high [[electrical conductivity]] of pure copper, the low-friction properties of bearing bronze (bronze that has a high lead content— 6–8%), the resonant qualities of bell bronze (20% tin, 80% copper), and the resistance to corrosion by [[seawater]] of several bronze alloys.

The melting point of bronze is about {{convert|950|°C|0|abbr=on}} but varies depending on the ratio of the alloy components. Bronze is usually nonmagnetic, but certain alloys containing iron or nickel may have magnetic properties. Bronze typically oxidizes only superficially; once a copper oxide (eventually becoming [[copper carbonate]]) layer is formed, the underlying metal is [[Passivation (chemistry)|protected from further corrosion]]. This can be seen on statues from the Hellenistic period. If copper [[chloride]]s are formed, a corrosion-mode called "[[bronze disease]]" will eventually destroy it completely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://proteus.brown.edu/greekpast/4867|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226134131/http://proteus.brown.edu/greekpast/4867|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2015|title=Bronze Disease, Archaeologies of the Greek Past |publisher=The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology Classroom |access-date=14 September 2014}}</ref>

==Uses==
[[File:秦铜诏铁权04975.jpg|thumb|Bronze weight with an inscribed imperial order, [[Qin dynasty]]]]
[[File:Bramble's views Toledo, Ohio - diamond anniversary 1837-1912 - DPLA - a4b983d79cfcfaaf7368d108fe048f73 (page 91) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Industrial products of the Bunting Brass and Bronze Company, 1912]]
Bronze, or bronze-like alloys and mixtures, were used for coins over a longer period. Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to the wide employment of [[stainless steel]] owing to its combination of toughness and resistance to salt water corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and submerged bearings. In the 20th century, silicon was introduced as the primary alloying element, creating an alloy with wide application in industry and the major form used in contemporary [[statuary]]. Sculptors may prefer silicon bronze because of the ready availability of silicon bronze brazing rod, which allows color-matched repair of defects in castings. Aluminium is also used for the structural metal aluminium bronze. Bronze parts are [[Toughness|tough]] and typically used for [[Bearing (mechanical)|bearings]], clips, [[electrical connector]]s and [[Spring (device)|springs]].

Bronze also has low [[friction]] against dissimilar metals, making it important for [[cannon]]s prior to modern [[Engineering tolerance|tolerancing]], where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel.<ref name="AlavudeenVenkateshwaran2006">{{cite book|first1=A. |last1=Alavudeen|first2=N. |last2=Venkateshwaran|first3=J. T. |last3=Winowlin Jappes|title=A Textbook of Engineering Materials and Metallurgy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WB5RBUQW3rcC&pg=PA136|access-date=25 June 2013|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Firewall Media|isbn=978-81-7008-957-5|pages=136–|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610180021/https://books.google.com/books?id=WB5RBUQW3rcC&pg=PA136|archive-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings, automobile transmission pilot bearings, and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the bearings of small [[electric motor]]s. Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to precision-grade bearings and springs. It is also used in [[guitar]] and [[piano]] strings. Unlike steel, bronze struck against a hard surface will not generate sparks, so it (along with [[beryllium copper]]) is used to make [[hammer]]s, [[mallet]]s, [[wrench]]es and other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of flammable vapors. Bronze is used to make [[bronze wool]] for woodworking applications where [[steel wool]] would discolor [[oak]]. Phosphor bronze is used for ships' propellers, musical instruments, and electrical contacts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/phos_bronze.html |title=Resources: Standards & Properties – Copper & Copper Alloy Microstructures: Phosphor Bronze |publisher=Copper Development Association Inc. |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208043816/http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/phos_bronze.html |archive-date=2015-12-08 }}</ref> [[Plain bearing#Bronze|Bearings]] are often made of bronze for its friction properties. It can be impregnated with oil to make the proprietary [[Oilite]] and similar material for bearings. Aluminium bronze is hard and wear-resistant, and is used for bearings and machine tool ways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/al_bronzes.html |title=Resources: Standards & Properties – Copper & Copper Alloy Microstructures: Aluminum Bronzes |publisher=Copper Development Association Inc. |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205130419/http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/al_bronzes.html |archive-date=2013-12-05 }}</ref> The Doehler Die Casting Co. of Toledo, Ohio were known for the production of [[Aluminium Bronze|Brastil]], a high tensile corrosion resistant bronze alloy.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/HTML_findingaids/MSS-202.html | title=Doehler-Jarvis Company Collection, MSS-202 }}</ref><ref>Woldman's Engineering Alloys, 9th Edition 1936, American Society for Metals, {{ISBN|978-0-87170-691-1}}</ref>

===Architectural bronze===
{{Main|Seagram Building|Roman Bronze Works}}
{{See also|General Bronze Corporation}}
[[File:Seagram Building (6268045534).jpg|thumb|left|alt=Refer to caption |The [[Seagram Building]] viewed from across [[Park Avenue]] at 52nd Street]]
The [[Seagram Building]] on [[New York City]]'s [[Park Avenue]] is the "iconic glass box sheathed in bronze, designed by [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe|Mies van der Rohe]]."<ref name="NYC Skyscrapers-Seagrams">{{cite book |last1=Nash |first1=Eric |title=Manhattan Skyscrapers |date=1999 |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=1-56898-181-3 |pages=105–106 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3aAA2Di1YkC&q=seagrams |access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref> The Seagram Building was the first time that an entire building was sheathed in bronze.<ref name="NYTimes Seagrams">{{cite news |last1=Ennis |first1=Thomas |title=Building is Designer's Testament |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/11/10/90853549.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |access-date=17 December 2023 |issue=November 10, 1957 |work=The New York Times |pages=313, 320 |quote=Seagram Building Marks Apex Of Mies van der Rohe's Career}}</ref> The [[General Bronze Corporation]] fabricated 3,200,000 pounds (1,600 tons) of bronze at its plant in [[Garden City, New York]].<ref name="NYTimes Seagrams" /> The Seagram Building is a 38-story, 516-foot bronze-and-[[topaz]]-tinted glass building.<ref name="NYC Skyscrapers-Seagrams" /> The building looks like a "squarish 38-story tower clad in a restrained curtain wall of metal and glass."<ref>{{cite journal |title=SEAGRAM'S PLANS PLAZA TOWER IN NEW YORK and Mies van der Rohe designs his first skyscraper office building |journal=Architectural Forum |date=April 1955 |volume=102 |issue=4 |pages=9 |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1955-04.pdf |access-date=21 December 2023 |language=English}}</ref> "Bronze was selected because of its color, both before and after aging, its [[corrosion]] resistance, and its [[extrusion]] properties.<ref name="NYTimes Seagrams" /><ref name="NYC Skyscrapers-Seagrams" /> In 1958, it was not only the most expensive building of its time — $36 million — but it was the first building in the world with floor-to-ceiling glass walls.<ref name="NYC Skyscrapers-Seagrams" /> Mies van der Rohe achieved the crisp edges that were custom-made with specific detailing by General Bronze<ref name="NYTimes Seagrams" /> and "even the screws that hold in the fixed glass-plate windows were made of brass."<ref name="NYC Skyscrapers-Seagrams" />

===Sculptures===
{{Main|Bronze sculpture}}
{{See also|Ormolu}}
Bronze is widely used for casting [[bronze sculpture]]s. Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould.<ref>{{cite book |last=Savage |first=George |title=A Concise History of Bronzes |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. Publishers |location=New York |date=1968 |page=17}}</ref> The [[Assyria]]n king [[Sennacherib]] (704–681 BCE) claims to have been the first to cast monumental bronze statues (of up to 30 tonnes) using two-part moulds instead of the [[Lost-wax casting|lost-wax method]].<ref>for a translation of his inscription see the appendix in {{cite book |author-link=Stephanie Dalley |last=Dalley |first=Stephanie |date=2013 |title=The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World Wonder traced |publisher=OUP |isbn=978-0-19-966226-5}}</ref>

Bronze statues were regarded as the highest form of sculpture in [[Ancient Greek art]], though survivals are few, as bronze was a valuable material in short supply in the [[Late Antique]] and medieval periods. Many of the most famous Greek bronze sculptures are known through Roman copies in marble, which were more likely to survive. In India, bronze sculptures from the [[Kushana]] ([[Chausa hoard]]) and [[Gupta]] periods ([[Brahma from Mirpur-Khas]], Akota Hoard, [[Sultanganj Buddha]]) and later periods ([[Hansi]] Hoard) have been found.<ref>Indian bronze masterpieces: the great tradition: specially published for the Festival of India, Asharani Mathur, Sonya Singh, Festival of India, Brijbasi Printers, Dec 1, 1988</ref> Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola empire]] in [[Tamil Nadu]] used bronze to create intricate statues via the lost-wax casting method with ornate detailing depicting the deities of [[Hinduism]]. The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas of [[Swamimalai]] and [[Chennai]].

In antiquity other cultures also produced works of [[High culture|high art]] using bronze. For example: in Africa, the [[Benin Bronzes|bronze heads]] of the [[Benin Empire|Kingdom of Benin]]; in Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from [[Greek mythology]]; in [[east Asia]], Chinese ritual bronzes of the [[Shang dynasty|Shang]] and [[Zhou dynasty]]—more often ceremonial vessels but including some figurine examples. Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for monumental statuary.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg|The ''[[Dancing Girl (prehistoric sculpture)|Dancing Girl]]'', an [[Indus Valley civilisation|Harappan]] artwork; 2400–1900 BCE; bronze; height: 10.8&nbsp;cm; [[National Museum, New Delhi|National Museum]] ([[New Delhi]], India)
File:商青銅鼎-Ritual Tripod Cauldron (Ding) MET DP164965.jpg|[[Chinese ritual bronzes|Ritual]] tripod cauldron ([[Ding (vessel)|ding]]); {{Circa|13th century BCE}}; bronze: height with handles: 25.4&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Kushite Pharaoh MET DT8840.jpg|[[Ancient Egyptian art|Ancient Egyptian]] statuette of a [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushite]] [[pharaoh]]; 713–664 BCE; bronze, precious-metal leaf; height: 7.6&nbsp;cm, width: 3.2&nbsp;cm, depth: 3.6&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Bronze tripod base for a thymiaterion (incense burner) MET DP21045.jpg|[[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] tripod base for a thymiaterion (incense burner); 475-450 BCE; bronze; height: 11&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:God of Cape Artemision 01.JPG|The ''[[Artemision Bronze]]''; 460-450 BCE; bronze; height: 2.1 m; [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]] ([[Athens]])
File:Egypt, Greco-Roman Period, probably Ptolemaic Dynasty - Statuette of Isis and Horus - 1940.613 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Ancient Egyptian statuette of [[Isis]] and [[Horus]]; 305–30&nbsp;BCE; solid cast of bronze; 4.8 × 10.3&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)
Bronze statue of Eros sleeping MET DP123903.jpg|[[Ancient Greek art|Ancient Greek]] statue of [[Eros]] sleeping; 3rd–2nd century BCE; bronze; 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Buddha Offering Protection MET DP-15581-036.jpg|[[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] sculpture of Buddha offering protection; late 6th–early 7th century; copper alloy; height: 47&nbsp;cm, width: 15.6&nbsp;cm, diameter: 14.3&nbsp;cm; from [[India]] (probably [[Bihar]]); Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama Garuda.jpg|[[Krishna]] with his consorts [[Rukmini]] and [[Satyabhama]] and his mount [[Garuda]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]], late 11th–12th century
File:NatarajaMET.JPG|Bronze [[Chola]] Statue of ''[[Nataraja]]'' at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City
File:Caldron MET cdi49-69-6s3.jpg|French or South Netherlandish Medieval caldron; 13th or 14th century; bronze and wrought iron; height: 37.5&nbsp;cm, diameter: 34.3&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of firedogs (chenets) MET DP170900.jpg|Pair of French [[Rococo]] firedogs (chenets); {{Circa|1750}}; gilt bronze; dimensions of the first: 52.7 x 48.3 x 26.7&nbsp;cm, of the second: 45.1 x 49.1 x 24.8&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Mantel clock (pendule de chiminée) MET DT6546.jpg|French [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] mantel clock (pendule de cheminée); 1757–1760; gilded and patinated bronze, oak veneered with ebony, white enamel with black numerals, and other materials; 48.3 × 69.9 × 27.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of firedogs MET DT8904.jpg|Pair of French [[Chinoiserie]] firedogs; 1760–1770; gilt bronze; height (each): 41.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of vases MET DP170824.jpg|Pair of Chinese vases with French Rococo mounts; the vases: early 18th century, the mounts: 1760–70; hard-paste porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts; 32.4 x 16.5 x 12.4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Mantel clock ("Pendule Uranie") MET DP346441.jpg|French Neoclassical mantel clock ("Pendule Uranie"); 1764–1770; case: patinated bronze and gilded bronze, Dial: white enamel, movement: brass and steel; 71.1 × 52.1 × 26.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of mounted vases (vase à monter) MET DP102639.jpg|Pair of mounted vases (vase à monter); 1765–70; soft-paste porcelain and French gilt bronze; 28.9 x 17.1&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Winter MET DP162240.jpg|''Winter''; by [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]]; 1787; bronze; 143.5 x 39.1 x 50.5&nbsp;cm, height of the pedestal: 86.4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Statue at Rockefeller Centre.jpg|upright=1.2| ''[[Prometheus (Manship)|Prometheus]]'', [[Paul Manship|Paul Manship's]] classic [[gilding|gilded]] bronze sculpture, 1934, [[Rockefeller Center]], [[New York City]]
File:New York City, May 2014 - 033.JPG|''[[Atlas (statue)|Atlas]]'' by [[Lee Lawrie]], bronze sculpture, 1937, [[Rockefeller Center]], [[New York City]] 
</gallery>

===Lamps===
Tiffany Glass Studios, made famous by [[Louis C. Tiffany]] commonly referred to his product as [[favrile glass]] or "''[[Tiffany glass]]''," and used bronze in their artisan work for his [[Tiffany lamp]]s.<ref name="Tifffany Morse Museum">{{cite web |title=Tiffany Studios |url=https://morsemuseum.org/louis-comfort-tiffany/tiffany-studios/ |website=The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="Tiffany Nash book">{{cite book |last1=Eidelberg |first1=Martin |last2=McClelland |first2=Nany |title=Behind the Scenes of Tiffany Glassmaking: the Nash Notebooks |date=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=9780312282653 |pages=2–10 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Id9kQgAACAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Tiffany Studios">{{cite web |title=A Chronology of Louis C. Tiffany and Tiffany Studios |url=https://www.tiffanystudios.org/tiffany-chronology.html |website=Tiffany Studios |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Roman Bronze Works |url=https://www.cartermuseum.org/artists/roman-bronze-works |website=Amon Carter Museum of American Art |publisher=Carter Museum |access-date=23 December 2023 |language=English}}</ref>[[File:Wisteria Tiffany Studios Lamp.jpg|left|thumb|[[Tiffany lamp|Tiffany]] table lamp with bronze]]

===Fountains and doors===
[[File:United States Supreme Court Building Front Door photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|right|[[United States Supreme Court Building|US Supreme Court Building's massive bronze doors]] by Gilbert Donnelly Sr. and his son John Donnelly Jr.]]The largest and most ornate bronze fountain known to be cast in the world was by the [[Roman Bronze Works]] and [[General Bronze Corporation]] in 1952. The material used for the fountain, known as statuary bronze, is a [[alloy|quaternary alloy]] made of copper, zinc, tin, and lead, and traditionally golden brown in color. This was made for the [[Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain]] in [[Federal Triangle]] in Washington, DC.<ref name="Anrew Mellon fountain">{{cite web |title=Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain Restored by National Gallery of Art in Honor of 75th Anniversary with a Major Grant from Richard King Mellon Foundation —Monumental Bronze Fountain Operational on March 17— |url=https://www.nga.gov/press/2016/fountain.html |website=National Gallery of Art |access-date=23 December 2023 |location=Washington, DC |quote=Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain, situated at the apex of the Federal Triangle complex in downtown Washington, DC}}</ref> Another example of the massive, ornate design projects of bronze, and attributed to General Bronze/Roman Bronze Works were the massive bronze doors to the [[United States Supreme Court Building]] in Washington, DC.<ref name="Supreme Court Bronze Doors">{{cite web |title=The Bronze Doors |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/bronzedoors_5-7-2018_final.pdf |website=Supreme Court |publisher=The Supreme Court |access-date=23 December 2023 |location=Washington, DC |language=English |quote="Out of all of our monumental projects, spread over two lifetimes, the Supreme Court doors are the only work that we ever signed – that's how important they were." – JOHN DONNELLY, JR., Sculptor}}</ref>

===Mirrors===
[[File:MirrorDSCF6602.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|Decorated back of a [[Celtic art|Celtic]] bronze mirror, 120-80 BCE, [[St Keverne]], England]]
{{Main|Bronze mirror}}

Before it became possible to produce glass with acceptably flat surfaces, bronze was a standard material for mirrors. Bronze was used for this purpose in many parts of the world, probably based on independent discoveries. Bronze mirrors survive from the Egyptian [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] (2040–1750 BCE), and China from at least {{circa|550 BCE}}. In Europe, the [[Etruscans]] were making bronze mirrors in the sixth century BCE, and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] mirrors followed the same pattern. Although other materials such as [[speculum metal]] had come into use, and Western glass mirrors had largely taken over, bronze mirrors were still being made in Japan and elsewhere in the eighteenth century, and are still made on a small scale in [[Kerala]], India.

===Musical instruments===
[[File:Bianzhong.jpg|thumb|Chinese bells:[[Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng]], [[Spring and Autumn period]] (476–221 BCE)]]
[[File:Picsingingbowls.jpg|thumb|[[Standing bell|Singing bowl]]s from the 16th to 18th centuries. Annealed bronze continues to be made in the Himalayas]]
Bronze is the preferred metal for [[bell (instrument)|bells]] in the form of a high tin bronze alloy known as [[bell metal]], which is typically about 23% tin.

Nearly all professional [[cymbal]]s are made from bronze, which gives a desirable balance of durability and [[timbre]]. Several types of bronze are used, commonly [[B20 (bronze)|B20 bronze]], which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver, or the tougher B8 bronze made from 8% tin and 92% copper. As the tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops.<ref>{{cite book|first=Lothar|last=Von Falkenhausen|title=Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|publisher=University of California Press|year=1993|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ve1h53NTNW0C&pg=PA106|isbn=978-0-520-07378-4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526225554/https://books.google.com/books?id=ve1h53NTNW0C&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106|archive-date=2016-05-26}}</ref>

Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and [[nylon]] strings of various [[String instrument|stringed instruments]] such as the [[double bass]], piano, [[harpsichord]], and guitar. Bronze strings are commonly reserved on pianoforte for the lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior sustain quality to that of high-tensile steel.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=McCreight |first=Tim |title=Metals technic: a collection of techniques for metalsmiths |publisher=Brynmorgen Press |date=1992 |isbn=0-9615984-3-3}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}</ref>

Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck [[idiophones]] around the world, notably bells, singing bowls, [[gongs]], cymbals, and other idiophones from Asia. Examples include [[Tibet]]an [[singing bowls]], temple bells of many sizes and shapes, [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[gamelan]], and other bronze [[musical instrument]]s. The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BCE, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>{{cite book |last=LaPlantz |first=David |title=Jewelry – Metalwork 1991 Survey: Visions – Concepts – Communication |publisher=S. LaPlantz |date=1991 |isbn=0-942002-05-9}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3600 BCE.

Some companies are now making [[saxophone]]s from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sax.co.uk/signature-custom-alto-sax-phosphor-bronze-big-bell.ir |title=www.sax.co.uk |access-date=18 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811002147/http://www.sax.co.uk/signature-custom-alto-sax-phosphor-bronze-big-bell.ir |archive-date=11 August 2014 }}</ref> Bell bronze/B20 is used to make the tone rings of many professional model [[banjo]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first=Roger H. |last=Siminoff |title=Siminoff's Luthiers Glossary |location=New York |publisher=Hal Leonard |date=2008 |page=13 |isbn=9781423442929}}</ref> The tone ring is a heavy (usually {{cvt|3|lb|disp=semicolon}}) folded or arched metal ring attached to a thick wood rim, over which a skin, or most often, a plastic membrane (or head) is stretched – it is the bell bronze that gives the banjo a crisp powerful lower register and clear bell-like treble register.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Bronze? {{!}} National Bell Festival |url=https://www.bells.org/blog/what-bronze |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.bells.org}}</ref>

===Coins and medals===
[[File:Pisanello, medaglia di giovanni paleologo, I esemplare del bargello.JPG|thumb|left|[[Medal of the Emperor John VIII Palaiologos]] during his visit to Florence, by [[Pisanello]] (1438). The legend reads, in Greek: "John the Palaiologos, ''[[basileus]]'' and ''[[autokrator]]'' of the Romans".]]

Bronze has also been used in coins; most "copper" coins are actually bronze, with about 4 percent tin and 1 percent zinc.<ref name="bronze {{!}} alloy">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/bronze-alloy|title=bronze {{!}} alloy |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=Online |access-date=2016-07-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730212401/https://www.britannica.com/technology/bronze-alloy|archive-date=2016-07-30}}</ref>

As with coins, bronze has been used in the manufacture of various types of [[medal]]s for centuries, and "[[bronze medal]]s" are known in contemporary times for being awarded for third place in sporting competitions and other events. The term is now often used for third place even when no actual bronze medal is awarded. The usage in part arose from the trio of [[gold]], [[silver]] and bronze to represent the first three [[Ages of Man]] in Greek mythology: the [[Golden Age]], when men lived among the gods; the [[Silver age]], where youth lasted a hundred years; and the [[Greek Heroic Age|Bronze Age]], the era of heroes. It was first adopted for a sports event at the [[1904 Summer Olympics]]. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given rather than medals.

Bronze is the normal material for the related form of the [[plaquette]], normally a rectangular work of art with a scene in [[relief]], for a collectors' market.

Bronze is also associated with eighth wedding anniversaries.

==Biblical references==
There are over 125 references to bronze ('nehoshet'), which appears to be the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word used for copper and any of its alloys. However, the [[Old Testament]] era Hebrews are not thought to have had the capability to manufacture zinc (needed to make brass) and so it is likely that 'nehoshet' refers to copper and its alloys with tin, now called bronze.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/jbq-past-issues/2017/453/nehoshet-copper-bronze-brass-plausible-tanakh/ | title=Nehoshet: Copper, Bronze or Brass? Which are Plausible in the Tanakh? |work=Jewish Bible Quarterly |last=Meschel |first=Susan V. | date=2 October 2017 |access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref> In the King James Version, there is no use of the word 'bronze' and 'nehoshet' was translated as 'brass'. Modern translations use 'bronze'. Bronze (nehoshet) was used widely in the Tabernacle for items such as the bronze altar (Exodus Ch.27), bronze laver (Exodus Ch.30), utensils, and mirror (Exodus Ch.38). It was mentioned in the account of [[Moses]] holding up a bronze snake on a pole in Numbers Ch.21. In First Kings, it is mentioned that Hiram was very skilled in working with bronze, and he made many furnishings for [[Solomon's Temple]] including pillars, capitals, stands, wheels, bowls, and plates, some of which were highly decorative (see I Kings 7:13-47). Bronze was also widely used as battle armor and helmet, as in the battle of [[David and Goliath]] in I Samuel 17:5-6;38 (also see II Chron. 12:10).

{{Clear}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Art object]]
* [[Bell founding]]
* [[Bronze and brass ornamental work]]
* [[Bronzing]]
* [[Chinese bronze inscriptions]]
* [[Selective leaching#Leaching of zinc|Dezincification resistant brass]]
* [[French Empire mantel clock]]
* [[List of copper alloys]]
* [[Ormolu]]
* [[Seagram Building]], the first office building in the world to use extruded bronze on a facade
* [[General Bronze Corporation]]
* [[Tiffany lamp]]
* [[UNS C69100]] (Tungum), a bronze alloy of copper, aluminium, nickel, tin, and zinc
* [[Yoruba art]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name=antiquity1312>{{cite web | url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871030.htm | title = Tainted ores and the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago | first1 = Miljana | last1 = Radivojević | first2 = Thilo | last2 = Rehren | publisher = Antiquity Publications Ltd | date = December 2013 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://archive.today/20140205001504/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871030.htm | archive-date = 2014-02-05 }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q34095|wikt=bronze|c=Category:Bronze|n=no|s=1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Bronze|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|b=no|v=no|q=no}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061216180940/http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/2005/bell/bell.html Bronze bells] (archived 16 December 2006)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090523044615/http://wildlifeart.org/Foundry/index2.html "Lost Wax, Found Bronze": lost-wax casting explained] (archived 23 May 2009)
* {{cite web|title = Flash animation of the lost-wax casting process|publisher = [[James Peniston|James Peniston Sculpture]]|url = http://www.jepsculpture.com/bronze.shtml|access-date = 2008-11-03}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160416001549/http://web.comhem.se/vikingbronze/ Viking Bronze – Ancient and Early Medieval bronze casting] (archived 16 April 2016)

{{Jewellery}}

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[[Category:Bronze| ]]
[[Category:Copper alloys]]
[[Category:Tin alloys]]
[[Category:Coinage metals and alloys]]