JAPANESE APPLIED ART
adapted for art castings, not only because of its low melting-point, great fluidity, and capacity for taking sharp impressions, but also because it has a particularly smooth surface and readily acquires a rich patina.
Concerning the quality of Japanese bronze, Mr. W. Gowland, in a paper read before the Applied Art Section of the Society of Arts, makes the following interesting remarks:—
The chief characters on which the value of the Japanese copper-tin-lead alloys, as art bronzes, depend, may be briefly stated as follows:—
1. Low melting-point. This is of especial importance to the Japanese founder, owing to the fusible nature of the clays and sands of which his crucibles and moulds are made.
2. Great fluidity when melted compared with the sluggishness of copper-tin bronzes.
3. Capability of receiving sharp impression of the mould.
4. Their contraction on solidification is not excessive.
5. Their peculiar smooth surface.
6. The readiness with which they acquire rich patinas of many tints when suitably treated.
The advantages resulting from the above properties will be obvious to all artists in bronze. They are chiefly the result of the use of lead as one of the chief constituents of the alloys. The low melting-point of these bronzes, their fluidity when melted, and the facility with which they acquire certain patinas are indeed entirely due to the use of this metal. The fine velvety surface and sharpness of the castings depend in a great measure on the structure of the mould and its comparatively high temperature when the bronze is poured into it, although partly also on the influence of the lead. These alloys are, however, not without some disadvantageous properties, and these are also due to the lead which they contain. They are often low in tenacity, and offer but little resistance to bending and torsion127
