Thank you for your recent purchase of a Gibby bronze. Even if you are not new to collecting bronze sculptures you may appreciate recommendations for the care of your bronze sculpture. I hope you find this &#;Quick Care Guide for Bronzes&#; useful.
I use Everdur silicone bronze 873 for casting all of my work. It is and an alloy made up of 95% copper. This is the most workable and most common of the highest quality bronze used in the fine art casting industry. Because there is such a high copper content, this means that it has the potential to oxidize and turn green. To deter this from happening within a short period of time, I seal all of my bronzes with Nicholas Lacquer to complete the patina coloring process while the bronze is still warm and mostly, if not completely, void of moisture. Then I follow it up with an application of a thin coat of carnauba based paste wax.
These two sealing processes are meant to lock in the chemical reactions and pigments created while creating the patina. This should get you off to a good start to maintaining your patina color.
I would like to mention here that like all fine collectibles, there would be an aging process that occurs to the look of your bronze. No patina stays the same exact color forever. Things will happen to the color of your bronze no matter how you care for it.
The question is how it will age and how quickly. The reasons for this, UV rays may break down the exterior seal on your bronze exposing it to the elements, which then break down the patina colors. Secondly, internal moisture from the environment can affect the patina from within. In addition, certain chemicals utilized in patinas have a tendency to continue to react over time. The most common of these elements is sulfur. Over time, and very gradually, you may notice that your bronze may appear a bit darker and often richer in color. This may be due to the amount of sulfur left on the piece in creating certain effects required for the patina. Other chemicals (which I try to avoid) might be considered less stable by nature and change color at a faster rate.
There are various preferences when it comes to how a patina ages. My goal with my work is to use the most stable methods and materials so that the patina ages gradually to reflect it&#;s true age and not prematurely. But there is only so much I can do after the bronze leaves my studio. So, for this reason, I have written this guide.
First of all, it is good to note that the bronze itself should last thousands of years provided that it is not blatantly abused or vandalized with heavy tools. The nice thing about bronze is that it has its own security system. If someone tries to hit it with something, it has a built-in alarm system and it sounds like BONG!!! So, there is no need to worry about the bronze disintegrating even in outdoor or underwater applications.
Second, UV rays kill patinas and it doesn&#;t take long in full sunlight. So the amount of maintenance depends on where you display your bronze. For instance, I have bronzes that I have never had to do anything with except dust. Even that was optional. And I have seen bronzes outside in full sunlight completely lose their original patina within a few short years because no maintenance was done to them. So consider where you will display your bronze to determine a maintenance plan. In general, indoor bronzes need very little maintenance unless they are right next to a window in full sunlight or near a close water source, like a sink or a fountain. All bronzes displayed outside need a regular maintenance plan involving cleaning and resealing. The nice thing is that it is not hard to do and depending on where you live in the world you may not have to do it all that often.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from XIANGTAI.
A bronze sitting Benin Leopard from our Alkebulan, Ancient Africa collection. This piece has been handcrafted in Java, Indonesia. It has been cast with much eye for detail.
The Benin people of Nigeria believe that the Benin leopard is a symbol of Justice as well as a powerful beast that has royal qualities. The leopard is thought to reign over the Savannah as a king does over his subjects. We find this symbolism truly brilliant.
We looked to Alkebulan as our inspiration for this collection. Alkebulan translates to Ancient Africa. In Alkebulan, many craftsmen translated the surroundings, people and animals they worshipped into gorgeous design objects. It was customary to depict famous figures in bronze figurines. One of them was the ONI Queen, an important figure for the Yoruba people. Another example is the Benin Leopard, seen as a majestic and powerful creature.
Height: 23 cm
Length: 29 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg
Our bronze sculptures are made from upcycled metals such as old pipelines. Our craftsmen and women collect this scrap waste which they then put them in an oven at very high temperatures. Once the scrap waste pieces melt, the new raw material is ready to be used. We then use this virgin material to make our bronze sculptures. As bronze is a very eco and labour intensive material to mine, we feel it makes much more sense to reuse the material that has already been created than to extract it &#; again.
Lastly, when it comes to our working conditions, we work exclusively with Indonesian craftsmen and women on both Bali and Java. This piece specifically was made in Java, Indonesia. All of our craftsmen and women get paid a living wage that exceeds what the Indonesian Law requires. Their income is enough for a comfortable home, food, education, ceremonies, and more.
Finally, do you still have any questions about the bronze sitting Benin Leopard? Feel free to reach out to us via + 31 6 or and we will get back to you shortly.
For more information, please visit Bronze Leopard Sculpture.