Pre and Jean Limet in their Paris studio, 1938 Malvina Hoffman papers Research Library, Getty Research

Institute, Los Angeles (850042)

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BRONZE PATINA
by Karl Green The irst time I thought about patina I was a young assistant in a gallery selling Asian antiques. I was carrying a beautiful Japanese bronze vase when I suddenly learned that it was actually a two-part vase. The lower part separated, careened down a light of stairs and crashed into an iron railing. When the damage was assessed, the most dificult thing to repair was not the dent, but losses to the patina. This was a surprise to me. I had always thought that patina was the result of ages of loving handling and exposure to the elements, something that if removed by a zealous housekeeper (or a clumsy shop assistant), would take ages to replace. Although such natural patinas do exist, patina has also been artiicially created since at least Roman times. There is even a passage in Moralia by Plutarch (ca. 46 122 AD) that describes him and his students observing an ancient Grecian bronze group at Delphi and wondering how the sculptors managed to create its particular patina. The patina we are used to seeing on Antique and Renaissance bronzes was made by applying a colored solution to the surface, for example a mixture of linseed oil and bitumen, which was then covered with a coat of wax. This was often enhanced by years of handling and successive treatments with oil and wax, resulting in a deep patina that is indeed dificult (but, some say, not impossible) to imitate by other means. In the 19th century, a process was invented to create patina using heat and chemicals that is more durable than a mere surface treatment. This is the method most commonly used today. Among the early pioneers of this method were the Limet brothers, who worked in the Rudier foundry in Paris, and created the patinas on many of Rodins sculptures. Is there a need for patina on bronzes, apart from aesthetic reasons especially when one considers that bronze, when polished, looks a lot like gold? Why not polish it regularly and let it shine? The answer is yes, for protection. Bronze is an alloy containing a large percentage of copper (modern bronze contains a minimum of 70% copper, and usually more). When exposed to the air, copper oxidizes. Chemically speaking, this involves the loss of one or more electrons, changing the structure of the surface molecules. Practically speaking, the surface turns green. This natural green patina is known as verdigris. The Statue of Liberty in New York and the roof of the Garnier Opera House in Paris, both made of hammered sheets of copper, are famous examples employing this effect. Unless it is desired, the bronze needs to be protected. This was the purpose of the linseed oil coatings on Renaissance bronzes, and other similar methods known since Antiquity. Antoine Tisserant, a third-generation bronze caster, or bronzier, based in Paris, describes the modern method of creating a patina on bronze as a sort of forced corrosion: What we are doing can be seen as speeding up the process of nature, he says. If you leave a bronze object outside, after a given amount of time it will corrode and take on a coat of verdigris. Through applying heat and certain chemicals, we can make this process happen much more quickly. And by varying the chemicals we use, we can produce an entire range of patinas, some of which, like bordeaux red for example, are very dificult or impossible to obtain by natural means. Patina is a term used to describe a wide variety of surface colorations, most of them desirable, from the rich tobacco tones of leather armchairs to the honeycolored surface of old oak. On metal, natural patina is usually the result of some sort of corrosion. Corrosion is the gradual disintegration of a metal as a result of the interaction of its surface with the surrounding atmosphere as electrons are taken off, the metal is worn away. One form of corrosion, oxidation, occurs all around us, from rust on cars to spots on fruit, and can be described as the oxygen molecules actually burning the surface of the steel or fruit. With bronze, corrosion sometimes creates a layer that protects the surface in the short term, as in the green color known as verdigris that naturally forms on certain bronze objects. But in the long term, most metals need to be protected from the atmosphere, which is why articial patinas have been used throughout the centuries.

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All images Nicholas Prior

In order to create a classic dark brown patina, the patinator creates a solution of sulfurated potash called liver of sulfur (potassium sulide or potassium polysulide), and applies this swiftly to the surface of the bronze with a brush while heating it with a blow torch. The salts create a chemical reaction with the bronzes surface, and alter its color permanently. The result is not only much more stable and permanent than a surface treatment, but it also serves to protect the surface of the bronze from further oxidation. Steve Tatti, a patinator and ine arts conservator based in New York, whose projects have included the restoration of the patina on the Statue of Liberty, likens creating a patina to cooking a good stew. He explains: You start out with a few good ingredients and slowly bring together a complex but subtle inished product. The basic chemicals are applied to a heated bronze with brushes. They will quickly oxidize the raw bronze and develop color. You then neutralize the process with water and apply a second round of chemicals. In between applications, you typically rub back the surface, exposing clean bronze again. In this way you are developing a thin-layered surface coating. This process can develop over time, allowing each application to slowly interact with the bronze. This is what makes me think of the slow process of cooking: the longer a stew cooks, the more interesting the lavors are. Its the same for a good patina a brown or black patina might well consist of many subtle layers of color and not just a monochromatic surface, says Tatti. Each patinator has his own, often closely guarded, recipe, and the skill only develops

over time. Once a client of mine asked to borrow our gilder-patinator for a few weeks so that he could train someone in his factory to do the same thing, recounts Tisserant. I had to explain to him that it just wasnt possible to learn anything of value in that short a time in order to become a gilder-patinator in our atelier it takes at least ive years! Patina alone is not enough to protect the bronze, Tatti explains. Once the chemical patina is achieved, the bronze must be sealed to set the color and protect the bronze. The most common coating is a wax that can be applied to a warmed bronze for deeper penetration and when cooled can be buffed to a beautiful sheen enhancing the patination. Other coatings could be lacquers or drying oils. Bronzes require regular maintenance, especially if they are kept outdoors. Tatti strongly recommends that outdoor bronzes be treated and cleaned by a professional at least once a year. Bronzes kept indoors require less frequent treatments, and wiping with a soft, nonabrasive cloth and occasional cleaning with compressed air are all that collectors should do on their own.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the most common way of protecting bronze decorative elements like wall lights and furniture ttings was by re-gilding. In this process, mercury is used to bond the gold molecules to the bronze itself. When heat-ed, the mercury burns away, creating a layer of gold which is impermeable to air, thus preventing any possibility of oxidation. Gilding is still often used, of course, although today it is done almost exclusively by electrolysis (mercury poisoning was a deadly afiction of gilders in the 18th and 19th centuries). Even a gilt surface needs patina, however. An untreated gilt surface looks too gaudy for most modern eyes, so gilders regularly tone down the surface shine by adding a colored wax that resides in the recessed areas and imitates the accumulated dust of time, and/or by coating the gilding with a chemical solution which, when heated, alters its coloration and aspect. Karl Green is a furniture specialist, writer and editor.

Patinators Tisserant Art & Style 9, rue Saint Sbastien 75011 Paris, France +33 1 47 00 37 37 www.tisserant.fr Steve Tatti 117 E 39th St. New York, NY 10016 +1 212 867 8866 www.stevetatti.com

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