Zinc statues were the successors of the lead statuary so commonly
used as garden ornaments in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were
frequently, if not always, painted, either to imitate the stone statues for
which they were the cheap, often mass-produced, substitutes, or were
polychromed or even gilded. See for example:
JACKSON-STOPS, Gervase. New deities for old parterres: the painting
of lead statues. Country Life, 29 January 1987, 92-94.
The coating on the zinc statues described by Mr. Bezur sounds like a
traditional lead paint system - red lead primer for corrosion resistance,
followed by a thick white lead top coat to give a stone-effect. This top
coat weathers to a naturalistic chalky layer, principally hydrocerussite
(basic lead carbonate), which is an acceptable imitation of slightly
discoloured white marble.
I have occasionally seen zinc statues which have been electroplated
with copper, and then allowed to patinate naturally as a substitute for
bronze.
Nigel Seeley.
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