It was a great day for the human race when our ancient ancestors found out about Bronze. You can’t just dig up Bronze, it has to be made by mixing together several metals like Tin and Copper, melting them down and mixing them together. A nice drop of Arsenic, if they had any, is also added to make it even stronger. The metal that comes out is a much stronger material than the single metals on their own. Our ancestors had discovered how to make an alloy. We’re not sure why they decided this was a good idea to do but it is a good job that they did. It opened a whole new world of possibilities in terms of what they could make for building materials, eating utensils, weapons and armour, jewellery plus Art. Im sure when they were making and moulding these items by hand they would of wanted something to make this job easier like Bending Machines which now many years later can be found on sites such as http://www.cotswold-machinery-sales.co.uk/euromac/bending-machines/. In fact, we still use Bronze today for artistic reasons. Our ancestors were soon making all manner of artistic pieces especially Bronze Wildlife Sculptures and you can see some beautiful modern examples. They are so hard wearing and easy to clean they make a wonderful addition to the home.
We can only imagine how exciting it must have been for the first people to use this new material. They must have felt as if they could do anything and make anything. Bronze, when melted can be poured into the mould and then cooled in water. The first people to work with Bronze would have made large moulds of stone or clay to pour the bronze into. This must have been an exciting time for their warriors to. Until this time Stone was still being used for weapons such as clubs and axe heads. This new metal meant no more tin swords that bent and armour that might actually start to defect blows rather than get bent under a good hit. The real advantage was the arrow head. They could be lighter and get more speed and penetration than a stone head. This meant that hunting for meat was easier so there was an upturn in consumption of this food.
It was in art that the material really came into its own. Artists found that the metal was a lot easier to work than stone and a lot more durable than other metals. Bronze did not tarnish like other metals. It could be polished, with the ancient equivalent of Brasso, so that it gleamed in the sun and gave off an amazingly warm glow. One of the most famous examples of the power of brass, although it’s been lost to the ages, is one from the ancient world the Colossus of Rhodes. As this statue was supposed to be 108 feet tall, and he had no pants on, we suggest that you look at Gill’s wildlife work instead. The Colossus might stand out a bit in the front garden.