The original manufacturer’s protective coating on your cast bronze plaque degrades over time until it is lost, in a process called “weathering.” Different protective coatings wear at different rates and according to the weather conditions and outside influences of the plaque’s environment, however it will, eventually, wear off completely. During the transitioning phase, at times the different rates of wear on the manufactured coating on your bronze plaque will produce varying and temporary surface effects. These effects on your bronze plaque are transitional and will eventually even out to a completely natural patina.

The patina formation on cast bronze plaques is highly subject to the owner‘s tastes. Most artists and bronze aficionados love the look of a patina on cast bronze and wait for it, sometimes patiently, sometimes not so patiently. Eventually though, without repeated coating of a protective layer, all true bronze plaques will transition to a completely natural patina tone.

Deciding Not to Wait for the Patina

If you find that you cannot or do not want to wait for the natural formation of a patina, you can request that the protective coating not be applied to your cast bronze plaque. This will hasten the formation of a patina on your plaque. There are also manufacturing methods that speed the patina formation process along, so that your brand new plaque comes already with a natural, weathered look.

Hasten the Patina Process

Waiting for the patina formation on your cast bronze plaque can be time consuming, although most artists agree that it is worth the wait. If you want to quicken the patina formation process, request that no protective coating be applied to your cast bronze plaque.

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Cast Bronze has it’s own undeniable beauty, but the choice of finishes and textures can be used to really bring out that natural appeal of the alloy and add that special touch to your cast bronze plaque. Most customers request a specific finish or textures look for their bronze plaque during their initial order because the finish or look complements the setting for the plaque, but if a plaque is going to be outdoors, there are other considerations.

The Outdoors and Patina Formation

Once given over to the outdoors elements, the natural weathering of bronze plaques is stalled and initially retarded by a protective professional finish that is applied in the studio or manufacturing facility. This protective professional coating keeps the original finish on the bronze plaque intact for the first few years. It is important to remember that this protective coating is not permanent. The protective coating on the bronze plaque is not meant to be permanent, mostly because the formation of a patina on the bronze is a desired affect.

Maintaining the Finish without Patina Formation

If, however, you wish to delay the natural aging process on your bronze plaque, you will need to take steps to maintain the applied protective coating. One of the first ways to avoid any patina formation is to avoid placing artificial flowers and other objects on the bronze plaque. Objects on the bronze plaque can quicken the aging process in some areas and delay it in others, leaving a stain.

To keep the original finish on your bronze plaque, then a cleaning regimen will be needed. To delay the onset of a patina, it is recommended that you wash your bronze plaque with detergent and warm water, and then coat it with a thin film of car or floor polish. This finish is applied with a soft brush and then buffed back.

Your Cast Bronze Plaque was created for you, and the finish should be maintained, or not, at your pleasing.

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http:/www.USAnews.com recently reported on the speculation of what a cast Bronze Degas sculpture would sell for at Sotheby’s auction, and the now we have the answer.

Last week, A rare sculpture of a young dancer by French Impressionist Edgar Degas sold for a record $19.2 million at Sotheby’s auction house in London. It was expected to sell for up to $17 million, and exceeded expectation. This almost triples the price paid previously by collector and philanthropist Sir John Madejski at the British auction house in February 2004. The bronze cast was one of only 10 remaining in private collections.

The cast bronze sculpture was originally made in wax, circa 1880, before it was cast in 1922 in bronze. Degas clothed the figure in real silk, tulle, and gauze and a horsehair wig tied with a silk ribbon

There is, however, some dissent among collectors about the validity of the sculpture.

Authors Daphne S. Barbour’s and Shelly G. Strum’s in their “The Horse in Wax and Bronze” essay, wrote:

“Degas never cast his sculpture in bronze, claiming that it was a “tremendous responsibility to leave anything behind in bronze — the medium is for eternity.”

The Association of Art Museum Directors endorses the College Art Association’s ethical guidelines on sculptural reproductions. In part, those ethical guidelines state:

“any transfer into new material unless condone by the artist, is to be considered inauthentic or counterfeit and should not be acquired or exhibited as works of art.”

So whether this cast bronze sculpture is an actual Degas work of bronze or a counterfeit is still a discussion point in the art world, but apparently one collector certainly felt the cast bronze Dancer sculpture was real enough to pay millions for it.

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Not every famous bronze statue is from antiquity, and indeed one of the most famous statues in our times was sculpted in 1936.

The Savannah Bird Girl statue was sculpted in 1936 by Sylvia Shaw Judson, commissioned for a garden in Massachusetts. Bird Girl is cast in bronze and stands 50 inches tall. The bronze statue is the image of a young girl wearing a simple dress and a sad or contemplative expression, with her head tilted to the left. She stands straight, her elbows propped against her waist as she holds up two bowls out from her sides. The bowls are often described by viewers as “bird feeders”.

The sculpture was commissioned as a garden sculpture for a family in Massachusetts. Only four statues were made from the original plaster cast. The first went to the Massachusetts garden, and now resides in the Ryerson Conservation Area in Deerfield, Illinois. The second was sent to Washington, D.C., and is now located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The third was purchased by a family in Lake Forest and has never relocated. The fourth and most famous statue was bought by Lucy Boyd Trosdal of Savannah, Georgia, who named it Little Wendy and set it up at her family’s plot in Bonaventure Cemetery.

For 48 years, this bronze statue remained relatively unknown until a photo of the it was used as the artwork for the best selling novel, “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil” by John Berendt.

Due to the popularity of the novel, the Bird Girl Statue had to be removed from the Bonaventure Cemetery. It can now be viewed at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah.
Sylvia Shaw Judson, the artist who created Bird Girl was born in 1897 and grew up in Lake Forest, Ill. Her work was exhibited in The Whitney Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art before her death in 1978.

Cast bronze statues become famous in many different ways, it seems.

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