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Copper Alloys Used in Barye's Hunt Scenes in the Surtout de Table of the Duc d'Orleans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Jennifer Giaccai
Affiliation:
jgiaccai@thewalters.org, Walters Art Museum, Conservation Division, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Julie Lauffenburger
Affiliation:
jlauffenburger@thewalters.org, Walters Art Museum, Conservation Division, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Ann Boulton
Affiliation:
Aboulton@artbma.org, Baltimore Museum of Art, Conservation Department, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, United States
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Abstract

The copper alloys of the statues by Antoine-Louis Barye were examined with energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence. Barye experimented with casting techniques in his own workshop and regularly worked with the foundry of Honoré Gonon, who re-introduced lost wax casting to 19th century Paris. Two of the technically complex Barye sculptures in the surtout de table of the Duc d'Orleans were difficult to cast using the more common sand casting technique. Problems with the sand casts sent to other foundries resulted in Gonon completing the casting for problematic statues in the surtout, after Gonon had completed lost wax casting of the three hunt scenes initially sent to his foundry. Examination of the copper alloy compositions differentiates the casts from the various foundries and determines which parts of the surtout were ultimately cast by Gonon.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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References

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