Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process By Peng Pe ...

“investment casting,” which is a more inclusive term with regard to other expendable materials (e.g., bitumen, tallow, resin, or modern foam) that in some instances replaced wax; nevertheless, the term “lost-wax process” remains in common usage.

This is the basic rationale behind the use of lost-wax (or investment) casting methods. For convenience, I describe the section-mold and lost-wax processes as two solutions to the same problem. Historically, it is conceivable that the lost-wax process developed in multiple regions for different reasons. It is possible that in some locations, wax was only occasionally used as a model, and casters developed the process without having been forced to determine how to deal with a complicated design. However, the section-mold and lost-wax processes, though differing essentially in principle, were by no means two parallel, unrelated techniques. They could be, and often were, freely combined with each other in the same process.

The Lost-wax Process and Its Variations

Though the reasons for using the lost-wax process appear straightforward, casting itself is by no means simple. The layman’s understanding of “the lost-wax process” is a highly unrealistic abstraction, far removed from the realities of the workshop. As Robert Bagley has pointed out, “the term ‘the lost-wax process’ lumps together all sorts of different things. The bronze caster does not work from one textbook diagram; he does whatever it takes to make a particular object.”⁶ For this reason, it is useful to introduce the lost-wax processes, or rather one process with multiple variations, with specific well-studied objects. Ancient Greek casting provides ample case studies for this purpose.

The Direct Process

The diagram in figure 2 explains one of the simplest forms of lost-wax casting. To cast a solid horse figurine, the founder begins by making a