Editing Bronze (section)

===Sculptures===
{{Main|Bronze sculpture}}
{{See also|Ormolu}}
Bronze is widely used for casting [[bronze sculpture]]s. Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould.<ref>{{cite book |last=Savage |first=George |title=A Concise History of Bronzes |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. Publishers |location=New York |date=1968 |page=17}}</ref> The [[Assyria]]n king [[Sennacherib]] (704–681 BCE) claims to have been the first to cast monumental bronze statues (of up to 30 tonnes) using two-part moulds instead of the [[Lost-wax casting|lost-wax method]].<ref>for a translation of his inscription see the appendix in {{cite book |author-link=Stephanie Dalley |last=Dalley |first=Stephanie |date=2013 |title=The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World Wonder traced |publisher=OUP |isbn=978-0-19-966226-5}}</ref>

Bronze statues were regarded as the highest form of sculpture in [[Ancient Greek art]], though survivals are few, as bronze was a valuable material in short supply in the [[Late Antique]] and medieval periods. Many of the most famous Greek bronze sculptures are known through Roman copies in marble, which were more likely to survive. In India, bronze sculptures from the [[Kushana]] ([[Chausa hoard]]) and [[Gupta]] periods ([[Brahma from Mirpur-Khas]], Akota Hoard, [[Sultanganj Buddha]]) and later periods ([[Hansi]] Hoard) have been found.<ref>Indian bronze masterpieces: the great tradition: specially published for the Festival of India, Asharani Mathur, Sonya Singh, Festival of India, Brijbasi Printers, Dec 1, 1988</ref> Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola empire]] in [[Tamil Nadu]] used bronze to create intricate statues via the lost-wax casting method with ornate detailing depicting the deities of [[Hinduism]]. The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas of [[Swamimalai]] and [[Chennai]].

In antiquity other cultures also produced works of [[High culture|high art]] using bronze. For example: in Africa, the [[Benin Bronzes|bronze heads]] of the [[Benin Empire|Kingdom of Benin]]; in Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from [[Greek mythology]]; in [[east Asia]], Chinese ritual bronzes of the [[Shang dynasty|Shang]] and [[Zhou dynasty]]—more often ceremonial vessels but including some figurine examples. Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for monumental statuary.

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File:Dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg|The ''[[Dancing Girl (prehistoric sculpture)|Dancing Girl]]'', an [[Indus Valley civilisation|Harappan]] artwork; 2400–1900 BCE; bronze; height: 10.8&nbsp;cm; [[National Museum, New Delhi|National Museum]] ([[New Delhi]], India)
File:商青銅鼎-Ritual Tripod Cauldron (Ding) MET DP164965.jpg|[[Chinese ritual bronzes|Ritual]] tripod cauldron ([[Ding (vessel)|ding]]); {{Circa|13th century BCE}}; bronze: height with handles: 25.4&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Kushite Pharaoh MET DT8840.jpg|[[Ancient Egyptian art|Ancient Egyptian]] statuette of a [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushite]] [[pharaoh]]; 713–664 BCE; bronze, precious-metal leaf; height: 7.6&nbsp;cm, width: 3.2&nbsp;cm, depth: 3.6&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Bronze tripod base for a thymiaterion (incense burner) MET DP21045.jpg|[[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] tripod base for a thymiaterion (incense burner); 475-450 BCE; bronze; height: 11&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:God of Cape Artemision 01.JPG|The ''[[Artemision Bronze]]''; 460-450 BCE; bronze; height: 2.1 m; [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]] ([[Athens]])
File:Egypt, Greco-Roman Period, probably Ptolemaic Dynasty - Statuette of Isis and Horus - 1940.613 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Ancient Egyptian statuette of [[Isis]] and [[Horus]]; 305–30&nbsp;BCE; solid cast of bronze; 4.8 × 10.3&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)
Bronze statue of Eros sleeping MET DP123903.jpg|[[Ancient Greek art|Ancient Greek]] statue of [[Eros]] sleeping; 3rd–2nd century BCE; bronze; 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Buddha Offering Protection MET DP-15581-036.jpg|[[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] sculpture of Buddha offering protection; late 6th–early 7th century; copper alloy; height: 47&nbsp;cm, width: 15.6&nbsp;cm, diameter: 14.3&nbsp;cm; from [[India]] (probably [[Bihar]]); Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama Garuda.jpg|[[Krishna]] with his consorts [[Rukmini]] and [[Satyabhama]] and his mount [[Garuda]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]], late 11th–12th century
File:NatarajaMET.JPG|Bronze [[Chola]] Statue of ''[[Nataraja]]'' at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City
File:Caldron MET cdi49-69-6s3.jpg|French or South Netherlandish Medieval caldron; 13th or 14th century; bronze and wrought iron; height: 37.5&nbsp;cm, diameter: 34.3&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of firedogs (chenets) MET DP170900.jpg|Pair of French [[Rococo]] firedogs (chenets); {{Circa|1750}}; gilt bronze; dimensions of the first: 52.7 x 48.3 x 26.7&nbsp;cm, of the second: 45.1 x 49.1 x 24.8&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Mantel clock (pendule de chiminée) MET DT6546.jpg|French [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] mantel clock (pendule de cheminée); 1757–1760; gilded and patinated bronze, oak veneered with ebony, white enamel with black numerals, and other materials; 48.3 × 69.9 × 27.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of firedogs MET DT8904.jpg|Pair of French [[Chinoiserie]] firedogs; 1760–1770; gilt bronze; height (each): 41.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of vases MET DP170824.jpg|Pair of Chinese vases with French Rococo mounts; the vases: early 18th century, the mounts: 1760–70; hard-paste porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts; 32.4 x 16.5 x 12.4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Mantel clock ("Pendule Uranie") MET DP346441.jpg|French Neoclassical mantel clock ("Pendule Uranie"); 1764–1770; case: patinated bronze and gilded bronze, Dial: white enamel, movement: brass and steel; 71.1 × 52.1 × 26.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pair of mounted vases (vase à monter) MET DP102639.jpg|Pair of mounted vases (vase à monter); 1765–70; soft-paste porcelain and French gilt bronze; 28.9 x 17.1&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Winter MET DP162240.jpg|''Winter''; by [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]]; 1787; bronze; 143.5 x 39.1 x 50.5&nbsp;cm, height of the pedestal: 86.4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Statue at Rockefeller Centre.jpg|upright=1.2| ''[[Prometheus (Manship)|Prometheus]]'', [[Paul Manship|Paul Manship's]] classic [[gilding|gilded]] bronze sculpture, 1934, [[Rockefeller Center]], [[New York City]]
File:New York City, May 2014 - 033.JPG|''[[Atlas (statue)|Atlas]]'' by [[Lee Lawrie]], bronze sculpture, 1937, [[Rockefeller Center]], [[New York City]] 
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