The techniques of repoussé and chasing date from Antiquity and have been used widely with
gold and
silver for fine detailed work and with
copper,
tin, and
bronze for larger sculptures.
European prehistory and Bronze Age During the 3rd millennium BC, in the Middle East, a variety of semi-mass production methods were introduced to avoid repetitive free-hand work. With the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved in
intaglio in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as
jet. The gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly, by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it. The alternative to pressing gold sheet into a die is to work it over a design in cameo relief. Here the detail would be greater on the back of the final design, so some final chasing from the front was often carried out to sharpen the detail. The use of patterned punches dates back to the first half of the
2nd millennium BC, if not far earlier. The simplest patterned punches were produced by loops or scrolls of wire. The
Gundestrup cauldron (a product of the
Celtic culture, made between 150 BC and 1 AD) had originally thirteen separate silver panels, with repoussé
relief, lining the inside and outside of the vessel.
Ancient Egypt In 1400 BC, the Egyptian
Amarna period, resin and mud for repoussé backing was in use. A fine example of Egyptian repoussé is the mummy mask of
Tutankhamun, a
Pharaoh of the late
Eighteenth Dynasty. The majority of the mask was formed using the technique of repoussé from what appears to be a single sheet of gold. The lapis lazuli and other stones were inlaid in chased areas after the height of the form was completed. The ceremonial beard,
Nekhbet vulture, and
Uraeus were attached separately.
Classical antiquity By
Hellenistic times, combined punches and dies were in use. In 400 BC, the Greeks were using beeswax for filler in repoussé. Classical pieces using repoussage and chasing include the
bronze Greek armour plates from the 3rd century BC. The
Warren Cup is a Roman silver cup, and the
Mildenhall Treasure, the
Hoxne Hoard, the
Water Newton Treasure and the
Berthouville Treasure are examples of
hoards of Roman silver found in
England and northern
France with many pieces using these techniques. Another example piece using this technique is
The Stag’s Head Rhyton, dating to around 400 BCE, which is made from a silver sheet and features three scenes of warriors battling, each scene with two warriors.
India Repoussé and chasing are commonly used in
India to create objects such as water vessels. These vessels are generally made using sheets of
copper or
silver.
Pre-Columbian America Repoussage and chasing were used by many Pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, such as the
Chavín culture of
Peru (about 900 to 200 BC), to make ornaments of gold and other metals. The Lambayeque culture of coastal Peru (AD 750–1375) produced elaborately repoussé-decorated silver beakers, shaped by repeatedly hammering and annealing sheet metal. Artists planned compositions by first etching shallow guidelines onto the metal surface before working the design, a technique also documented in earlier Moche ceramic art. These vessels were closely associated with ritual and funerary practice, and were often placed in high-status burials. During the
Hopewell and
Mississippian periods of the American
Southeast and
Midwest goods of repoussé copper were fashioned as ritual regalia and eventually used in prestige burials. Examples have been found with many S.E.C.C. designs such as
Bi-lobed arrow motif headdresses and
falcon dancer plaques. Although examples have been found in a widely scattered area (
Spiro,
Oklahoma,
Etowah,
Georgia, and
Moundville,
Alabama), most are in what is known as the
Braden Style, thought to have originated at the
Cahokia Site in
Collinsville, Illinois. Several copper workshops discovered during excavations of
Mound 34 at Cahokia are the only known Mississippian culture copper workshops.
Modern works The largest known
sculpture created with this technique is the
Statue of Liberty, properly
Liberté éclairant le monde, ("Liberty Enlightening The World"), in
Upper New York Bay. The statue was formed by
copper repoussé in sections using wooden structures to shape each piece during the hammering process. File:Rawnsley shield.jpg|Arts and Crafts repousse shield made by
Keswick School of Industrial Art, UK, 1895 File:Repujado- caballo griego alestilo del período geométrico, por el artista mexicano Manolo Vega, 2011.jpg|Repoussé on tin sheet – "Greek horse" by Mexican artist Manolo Vega, 2011 File:Statueofliberty.jpg|The Statue of Liberty, New York (NY) File:Construction of the Statue2.jpg|Construction of The Statue of Liberty == Methods ==