Event 1: Masters of Fire - The Copper Age in the Holy Land

I attended an exhibit called "Masters of Fire: The Copper Age in the Holy Land" at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco. This exhibit showcased pieces from southern Jordan and southern Israel. Archaeologists tracked the movement of the ore fragments and have shown that the ore was mined in Jordan and moved into southern Israel for smelting. The economic specialization required for production changed Chalcolithic society and created segmentation. Copper became a novelty and a luxury item.

Copper objects were also discovered at Nahal Mishmar, in the Judean desert. These pieces were created using lost-wax casting. This complicated process involved covering a wax model with clay molded to have holes, firing the model to create the final mold, and then pouring the copper into the clay mold through these holes. After sufficient time passed for cooling, the mold was broken and the object plashed. This technique allowed for unparalleled circular and spherical creations as shown in the images below.

The objects to the left and right of the center are copper creations. The objects on the left are mace heads which evidently show the care and precision that went into their creation. None of these mace heads are dramatically distorted and all of them are almost perfectly symmetrical across the x and y axes, assuming that the z-axis is vertical and that the origin is located at the center.

These eight scepters are a testament to the molding abilities of these metalworkers. The craftsmanship is phenomenal and the symmetry is almost perfect. There are no dramatic irregularities or deviations and the designs are subtle yet effective. This set serves as an exemplification of an item's or a set's ability to serve a dual-purpose: a practical tool and an artwork.

The crown shown above dates between 4500-3600 BC and possesses ornate decorations. There are vultures above the main piece. It is easy to overlook and take for granted the work that went into creating this piece because modern technology makes it so easy, but this required careful molding and shaping in order to ensure a regular circular shape and to ensure that the ornaments would adhere.


---PROOF OF ATTENDANCE---

Below is a picture of me at the exhibit. The exhibit docent would not allow me to take a picture with him for personal reasons, so included to the right is a picture of my ticket.











Works Cited

Butts, Allison . "Roasting, smelting, and converting." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136794/copper-processing/81933/Roasting-smelting-and-converting>.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." African Lost-Wax Casting. N.p., 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wax/hd_wax.htm>.

"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Nahal Mishmar Treasure. N.p., 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nahl/hd_nahl.htm>.

"Lost Wax Casting Process." New Arts Foundry. New Arts Foundry, n.d. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.newartsfoundry.com/lost-wax-casting-process/>.

Richard, Suzanne. Near Eastern archaeology a reader. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003. Print.