Response Paper to Bagleys Shang Ritual Bronzes Essay

Response Paper to Bagleys Shang Ritual Bronzes - Essay Example According to the paper findings  the casting technique and materials used influenced the design of the models. For instance, casting the bronze rituals using clay, instead of metal, ensured that the decorations on the Shang bronze rituals were achieved while the technique used during casting was responsible for more features that are fundamental. The technique used consisted of using wax as the main material to cast the models. The wax was given the exact shape as the desired shape of the finished bronze. After the wax model, the casters created a mold around the model by packing clay around it and then melting out the wax to ensure that the core remained empty inside. In the empty inside, bronze was poured inside in the empty spaces with the mold of clay broke to reveal the final bronze model.  As the discussion stresses the clay molds also contributed to the design in different ways. Casters curved lines along the mold in order to provide the final product an aesthetic appeal. The technique, popularly known as the lost-wax technique, also produced different sections of a model after removing a mold in sections from the casting.  Metalworkers, in the Shang ritual bronzes, had considerable freedom in their artwork despite some various constraints. In regards to the artistic freedom that the enjoyed, the metalworkers had the freedom of experimenting in the casting method that they used to make the ritual bronzes, which explains the diverse methods used in casting the models.