19th century sculptural mold.

Sculptural mold of the XIX century.
"Artichoke.
Plaster.
Measurements: 50 x 35 x 40 cm.

Sculpture in plaster representing with great verisimilitude an artichoke, worked with detail in the leaves and the base. This piece was not conceived as an ornament, but as a sculptural mold used in the foundry workshops during the 19th century, in the process of making bronze sculptures using the lost wax technique.

The procedure consisted of first modeling the figure in plaster, which served as a positive mold. A hollow wax casting was made on it, which in turn was covered with a refractory layer to obtain the final mold. When the whole was placed in the furnace, the wax melted and left an empty space into which the molten bronze was poured. Once cooled, the outer mold was broken, thus obtaining the bronze sculpture ready for its subsequent finishing and patina.

This type of plaster molds, although conceived as working pieces, have today a great documentary and artistic value, since they allow us to know firsthand the process of sculptural creation of the time and the fidelity in the reproduction of the original models.