Greetings Archaeometallurgists of the World,

My name is Richard Bohn.  I am a visual artist researching the past formulas
of bronze.  I have always been enchanted by the patination of ancient
Chinese, Greek and Roman bronze.  Currently I am working in conjunction with
a local goldsmith and an art foundry to produce a body of work that will
comprise modular pieces cast in the lost wax process.  Some would be cast in
various colors of 22kt and 24kt gold while other pieces , would be cast in
different bronze formulas, consummately to be assembled together into one
whole object.

I have had reasonably good results recreating the surface appearance of
natural patination using heat from the flame of a propane torch combined
with liquid mixtures of cupric and ferric compounds applied with a brush in
layers over the bronze.

The favored casting bronze in the art world of today is silicon bronze or
Everdur which was formulated, for ease of casting and to withstand
patination.

My question is:  Would I be likely to achieve an even richer coloration
using the hot patination process by recreating the bronze compounds of the
ancient world, and casting with the old formulas?   By going back and
formulating with Tin Oxide. Of recreating a Chinese formula and/or a Roman
or Greek formula.  Is there a particular bronze formula that comes to
anyone's mind that would give me a rich, dramatic color palate due to
inclusions of impure metallic substances ...?

I love the coloration caused by impurities coming from earth contaminated
molds.  I have thought about 'dusting' the interior of my molds with
powdered azurite, hematite, yellow ochre and differing percentages of ferric
and cupric oxides and nitrates,etc. ..... and of course .... just plain old
dirt.

Further .... Are there chemicals that you could recommend I apply to the
surface in order to simulate the corrosive, decomposing effects of nature
over time.

Are there perhaps casting techniques that are no longer used because of the
poor results of pitting , inclusions, etc that I might try.. ?   You can see
... I would like my work to look ancient and corroded

I assure you ... I have little interest in the forgery of antiquities ...
but only to evoke within the viewer a remembrance of that ... ' resonance of
spirit ' .... which is imbued into those ancient, numinous objects ... which
absorb our interest.

I have pictures of past work that I would be happy share with the group but
I don't know the list rules on including attachments.  You may go to the
CGJungpage 'gallery' to see some examples of my sumi-e painting and my work
in ceramics at this address ...

http://www.cgjungpage.org/jpgallery.html

I hope the list will forgive my being slightly ' off target ' although
perhaps it is in the end ... the true function of the artist to be just
plain ... ' off '.

                                              Richard Bohn
                                              Spokane,Washington
                                              United States of America