Post on 27-May-2015
Greek ArtGroup 1
1. What is the Lost Wax Process?
2. What is the debate surrounding the Elgin Marbles all about?
3. Do you believe that this is ‘national’ or ‘universal’ heritage? Should we
interfere to protect it when we feel it is endangered?
4. In what ways are so many of the attitudes of Athenian society evident in
the sculpture / architecture of the 5th Century BC?
5. What difference does sculpting in marble or bronze make in terms of
physical appearance and expressive qualities?
6. Can you label the ‘orders’ (Doric, Ionic & Corinthian)? Do you think their
differences are purely aesthetic or is there a ‘meaning’ behind each?
Questions
What is the Lost Wax Process?
• Also known as “Lost Wax Method”, “Lost Wax Casting” or cire-perdue (French term)
• Used in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome
• Became popular during the Early Classical period (480-450 B.C.), and Greece developed a widespread change from marble to bronze for large-scale sculpture
• Casts hollow metal statues
• Captures exquisite detail in metal objects
• The “Lost Wax Process” is still employed today in the areas of sculpture, fine jewelry, restorative work in dentistry and in the industrial setting
Lost Wax Process
Two types of Lost Wax Process
1. Sculpture2. Clay Casting3. Burn-Out4. Metal Casting
Direct Indirect
Expensive
Heavy
unsightly bubbles and
cracks
Two types of Lost Wax Process
1. Sculpture2. Wax Casting3. Wax Chasing4. Spruing & Gating5. Ceramic Shell Casting6. Burn-Out7. Metal Casting8. Break-Out/Devesting9. Welding10.Metal Chasing
Indirect
Zeus. c. 460 B.C. Bronze, height 6’10” (2.08m). National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Knidian Aphrodite. Roman copy after an original of c. 340 B.C. by Praxiteles. Marble, height 6’8” (2m). Musei Vaticani, Museo Pio Clementino, Gabinetto della Venere, Citta del Vaticano,
Rome
REFERENCES
Adams, L.S. (2011). A History of Western Art (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
Janson, A.F., & Janson, H.W. (2006). A Basic History of Western Art (7 th ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Collins, N. (2007). Lost Wax Casting. Retrieved from
http://www.lost-wax-casting.com/HISTORY%20OF%20LOST%20WAX%20CASTING.htm
Lost Wax Method. (2006). Retrieved from http://canequest.com/lost-wax.asp
The Original Lost Wax Casting Process. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.frbronze.com/casting.htm
Bronze Art Casting Process. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.americanbronze.com/process.html
What is the debate surrounding the Elgin
marbles?
The Elgin Marbles
• The Elgin marbles (a.k.a Parthenon sculptures) are a series of ancient Greek statues mainly from the Parthenon and buildings around the same area,
• Created as a dedication unto the goddess Athena nearly 2500 years ago.
•The building survived changes and alterations over centuries until an explosion occurred in the mid-sixteenths, which landed it in ruins ever since.
• The British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Thomas Bruce, had a love for Greek art and had obtained a firman from the sultan to remove and bring several surviving sculptures back to England.
• It is now stationed at the British museum in London.
Relocation debate :Should the artifacts be returned to Greece?
Or should they remain in Britain?
Reasons for returning to Greece :
• Illegal means were used to get the sculptures. It should therefore be returned to its rightful place.
• The museum in Greece was built to imitate its natural climate (temperature and humidity etc..) and would therefore be a more apt place to store the artifacts.
• The intepretation of the piece of artwork would be better if it was all in one piece rather than being scattered around the globe.
• The British museum could use casts of the sculptures, while the originals should be in the museum at Athens.
Reasons for remaining in Britain : • The museum wouldn’t be a museum if it didn’t have artifacts from around the world.
• Britain had saved the sculptures before they could be destroyed by natural disasters and pollution in Athens.
• The statues are too fragile to be transported back to Greece.
• Even if the sculptures were returned, the set in Greece would still be very incomplete.
• The removal of the statues had been approved by the ruling government at that point of time.
Public opinion on the matter :
• A survey carried out by Ispos MORI, the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdoms, was conducted in 2002.
- 40% in favour of returning the marbles to Greece
- 16% in favour of keeping them at the British Museum
- The remainder had no opinion or chose not to vote.
REFERENCES
Encyclopædia Britannica, Elgin Marbles, 2008, O.Ed.
Casey, Christopher (October 30, 2008). ""Grecian Grandeurs and the Rude Wasting of Old Time": Britain, the Elgin Marbles, and Post-Revolutionary Hellenism". Foundations. Volume III, Number 1. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
Linda Theodorou; Facaros, Dana (2003). Greece (Cadogan Country Guides). Cadogan Guides. p. 55. ISBN 1-86011-898-4.
Mark Ellingham, Tim Salmon, Marc Dubin, Natania Jansz, John Fisher, Greece: The Rough Guide,Rough Guides, 1992,ISBN 1-85828-020-6, p.39
King, Dorothy (2004-07-21). "Elgin Marbles: fact or fiction?". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, (Director of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Athens), "Revisiting the Parthenon: National Heritage in the Age of Globalism" in Mille Gabriel & Jens Dahl, (eds.) Utimut : past heritage — future partnerships, discussions on repatriation in the 21st Century, Copenhagen : International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and Greenland National Museum & Archives, (2008)
Brabant, Malcolm (2006-11-10). "Swede gives back Acropolis marble". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
"TA NEA On-line". Tanea.gr. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
Bernard Tschumi — New Acropolis Museum
British Museum press release on the Elgin Marbles".
Do you believe that this is ‘national’ or ‘universal’ heritage? Should we interfere to protect it when we feel it is endangered?
“The Athenian Acropolis, ‘the corner stone of the Classical Greek era’, in becoming a ‘world monument’ also became the national monument of Greece par excellence”
-Eleana Yalouri
http://youtu.be/UWy1UzF8JVI
REFERENCESBrabant, M. (Producer). (2008, May 7th ). Acropolis Museum girds for battle over Marbles [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWy1UzF8JVI
Zeman, A. (2012) A Game Changer? The Complexities of Cultural Heritage in the Debate Over the Elgin Marbles. Retrieved from
http://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=senior_capstone
Rakic, T., & Chambers, D. World Heritage: exploring the tension between the national and the ‘universal’ . Retrieved from
http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/1133/1/fulltext.pdf
In what ways are so many of the attitudes of Athenian society evident in
the sculpture / architecture of the 5th Century BC?
Masculinity and honor
Devotion
Hubris and Nemesis
Towards life and death
REFERENCESWalcot, P. Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence. Retrieved from http
://lamar.colostate.edu/~jgaughan/courses/309/texts/WalcottGreekAttitudes.htm
Cartwright, M. (2013). Greek Architecture. Retrieved from http://www.ancient.eu.com/Greek_Architecture/
Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece (2013). Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm
Giants. Retrieved from http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Fi-Go/Giants.html#b
What difference does sculpting in marble or bronze make in
terms of physical appearance and expressive qualities?
Bronze
Poseidon or Zeus from Cape Artemisium c. 455.
Bronze
The Charioteer of Delphi, 470s B.C. Bronze, 5ft.11in. high. Delphi Museum, Greece.
Marble
Hermes bearing the good person by Praxiteles. Parian marble
Marble
“Venus de Milo” (Aphrodite from Melos). Parian marbleCarved by Alexandros, a sculptor of Antioch
Bronze vs Marble
“Marathon Boy” or “Ephebe of Marathon”Media: Bronze
Michelangelo's David
REFERENCES
Bronze. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/bronze.htm
Greek Sculpture. Retrieved from http://www.portergaud.edu/academic/faculty/mcarver/cmcarver/grsc.html
Donatello’s David. Retrieved from http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth213/donatello_david.html
Spencer, R.B. (2010, Dec 14th). Top 10 Greatest Sculptures. Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2010/12/14/top-10-greatest-sculptures/
Marble. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/marble.htm
The Marble Sculpture- Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved from http://whatafy.com/the-marble-sculpture-advantages-and-disadvantages.html
Marble Sculpture. Retrieved from http://arts.indianetzone.com/sculpture/1/marble_sculpture_india.htm
Marble Sculpture. Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/marble.htm
Llgreek, I. (2012, Jul 30). Greatest Greek Bronze Statues [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://its-all-greek.blogspot.sg/2012/07/greatest-greek-bronze-statues.html
Can you label the ‘orders’ (Doric, Ionic & Corinthian)?
Do you think their differences are purely aesthetic or is there a ‘meaning’ behind each?
3 Greek OrdersDoric Ionic Corinthian
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
REFERENCESPlato. (January 28, 2013). Classical Wisdom Weekly. In Not Just Another Column. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from
http://classicalwisdom.com/not-just-another-column/.
Dietsch, D. K. (n.d). For Dummies. In Greek Architecture: Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian?. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/greek-architecture-doric-ionic-or-corinthian.html.
Cline, A. (n.d). Columns of Greek Temples. In Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/religion/blgrk_temples03.htm.
Emerson, M. (2007) Greek Sanctuaries: An Introduction. London: Bristol Classical.
IMAGEShttp://classicalwisdom.com/not-just-another-column/ancient-greek-styles/
Doric: http://www.granadahillslodge378.com/25year.html
Ionic: http://luisaugustopascual.wordpress.com/category/griego/
http://www.fotolia.com/id/41536731
Corinthian: http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds-12/temple-of-zeus-corinthian-columns
http://www.arqhys.com/contenidos/orden-corintio-arquitectura.html