Bronzes

Seated Buddha, 15th–16th century
Unknown maker, Thailand
Bronze, 11 1/2 × 7 × 3 in. (29.2 × 17.8 × 7.6 cm)
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, collection of Beatrice Riese, 2015.47

Additional Item Information

Ewer, date(s) unknown
Unknown maker, Iran
Hammered bronze, 7 3/4 × 7 × 5 3/4 in. (19.7 × 17.8 × 14.6 cm)
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, purchased with funds given by Alastair B. Martin, 72.86.4

Kundika (Water Vessel), 12th–13th century
Unknown maker, Korea
Bronze, 14 × 4 1/2 in. (35.6 × 11.4 cm)
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, gift of Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lyden, 85.281.4

Falcon Head, 664–525 BCE
Unknown maker, reportedly from El Mashayikh (Lepidotonpolis), Egypt
Bronze inlaid with gold, 1 1/4 × 1 1/4 × 1 3/8 in. (3.1 × 3.3 × 3.4 cm)
Electrolytically treated, 1939
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.107

Mount in the Form of a Phoenix, 618–907 CE
Unknown maker, China
Gilt bronze, 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
Conserved, 1996
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, gift of Alan and Simone Hartman, 1991.127.8

Garment Hook in the Form of a Bird, 475–221 BCE
Unknown maker, China
Bronze inlaid with silver, 2 1/2 × 1 7/8 in. (6.4 × 4.8 cm)
Conserved, 1996
Brooklyn Museum, New York City, gift of Alan and Simone Hartman, 1991.127.7

These items display the range of surfaces that form over time when bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) is exposed to and chemically reacts with salts, acids, alkalis, and moisture in its surrounding environment. At times, metalwork has been intentionally patinated to create these corroded surfaces, which are admired for their appearance. The distinction between corrosion and patina is a value judgment: they are materially the same. Metalworking involves the human manipulation of metal ore through a series of chemical and physical processes; corrosion chemically approximates the material’s reversion to ore. Across time and geographies, metalworkers have learned to work with such activity, creating patinas and contrasting precious metal inlays with these effects in mind.

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See other items in How is Matter Active?