Lost Wax casting, or cire-perdue, is the traditional method of bronze casting. First used roughly 4,000 years ago to produce unsurpassed quality and detail in bronze sculpting, it continues to be recognized as the most precise metal casting process in existence. Virtually unchanged since its inception, Lost Wax casting has been used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Africans, Masters of the Italian Renaissance and other artisans throughout history to cast superbly detailed bronze sculptures. Although modern tools and methods have improved the process, it remains expensive and time-consuming, requiring many hours of effort by skilled artisans to produce the magnificent, richly detailed sculptures proudly offered by Big Bronze at a fraction of the price typically paid for life-size bronze sculpture. The Lost Wax process begins with an original sculpture, a precise copy of which is cast into a mold, which is then used to produce an exact likeness of the original.

Seven distinct steps are required to produce each Big Bronze sculpture:

Step 1: Making A Mold From an Original Sculpture
This step is the most critical. Artisans begin by completely covering an original sculpture with specially formulated silicone or latex to capture every nuance of the original sculpture. Once completed, the coating is allowed to set. It is reinforced with a fiberglass shell, producing a strong, rigid, lightweight mold. After setting, the mold is cut in half to remove the original sculpture and sectioned into pieces to facilitate the remaining steps in the casting process.
Step 2: Making a Wax Likeness From the Mold
A thin coating of wax is hand painted onto the inside of each piece of the sectioned mold. This is done to ensure that the wax completely captures every nuance of the mold. After setting, individual pieces are assembled into the major sections of the mold; e.g., base, torso, extremities, etc. Molten wax is poured into the assembled molds, which are rotated throughout the process to allow wax to build up on the “primer coating�. The process is continued until the wax reaches a uniform thickness of roughly 3/8� in all areas. After the wax has cooled, the latex and silicone outer shell is removed from each section, revealing exact wax likenesses of the original sculpture. Artisans buff and finish them, removing any imperfections arising the molding process.