Moulding Gold is a photograph by Barbara St Jean which was uploaded on May 22nd, 2013.
Moulding Gold
The earliest metal manipulation was probably hammering (Craddock 1995, 1999), where copper ore was pounded into thin sheets. Beneficiation, or the... more
Title
Moulding Gold
Artist
Barbara St Jean
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The earliest metal manipulation was probably hammering (Craddock 1995, 1999), where copper ore was pounded into thin sheets. Beneficiation, or the process of ’making better’ could be carried out on the ore (if there were large enough pieces of metal separate from mineral) or after melting, where the prills of metal could be hand picked from the cooled slag. Melting beneficiated metal also allowed early metallurgists to use moulds and casts to form shapes of molten metal (Craddock 1995). Many of the metallurgical skills developed in the Bronze Age were still in use during the Roman times. Melting—the process of using heat to separate slag and metal, Smelting—using a reduced oxygen heated environment to separate metal oxides into metal and carbon dioxide, Roasting—process of using an oxygen rich environment to isolate sulphur oxide from metal oxide which can then be smelted, Casting—pouring liquid metal into a mould to make an object, Hammering—using blunt force to make a thin sheet which can be annealed or shaped, and Cupellation—separating metal alloys to isolate a specific metal—were all techniques which were well understood (Zwicker 1985, Tylecote 1962, Craddock 1995). However, the Romans provided few new technological advances other than the use of iron and the cupellation and granulation in the separation of gold alloys (Tylecote 1962). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_metallurgy
.....By Barbara St. Jean, Saint Jean Art Gallery, Copyright Protected, All rights reserved. To purchase print please visit my site; http://barbara-saint-jean.artistwebsites.com/
Uploaded
May 22nd, 2013
