It might be extremely difficult to determine the right age for a bronze sculpture. This is mainly because of its ability to battle against the drastic changes time brings to all the items in the form of depreciation. Bronze sculptures can be passed down from generation to generation, and they might not lose their value or charm.
So, what makes you believe that the bronze sculpture that a seller is trying to sell you is fresh and new? If you are considering making a purchase decision in this domain, you must be aware of all the attributes that determine the age of bronze items. These have been listed down below.
Artist’s Signatures
Bronze sculptures are made by experienced individuals who have particular skills in this domain. It requires a lot of knowledge, time, and patience to make bronze sculptures. Due to this, artists usually purchase patents and copyrights for the items that they build out of bronze.
More commonly, you might be able to find a particular artist’s signature or any marks that would provide you with the artist’s information. Your next step should be to search for that artist over the internet. The object would date back to the mid-life of the artist.
Style of Sculptures
When the Greeks and Romans used to use bronze to make sculptures, statues, and other pieces of art, they used to show the changing trends of art through different styles. If you have enough knowledge about the artistic styles that prevailed in different decades and centuries, that would also help you in determining how old a bronze sculpture is.
There are certain styles, such as that of Henry Moore, which make you affirmative about the fact that the sculpture was formed in the 20th century. Any sort of gothic or romantic portrayal of art with the help of bronze sculptures can also tell you the period of its formation quite easily.
Quality of Statue
Yes, there is no doubt in the fact that bronze sculptures do not lose their value as the quality remains intact for many years. However, if the bronze sculpture is not taken care of, then due to moisture, dirt, rust, and even debris, the quality of the statue might deteriorate.
The outer layer of the shiny patina is affected first due to these contaminants. As a result of this, sellers might try to scam you by coating the item with another layer to make it glossy again. This can easily deceive innocent buyers.
Moreover, you might notice scratches and crisscross on the body (especially the bottom part) of sculptures. This happens mainly because when the item has been kept in store for too long, multiple potential buyers lift the items and put them back. This shows signs of wearing out.
Seller’s Story
In many cases, the bronze sculptures have a story associated with them. Ask the seller about the story of the sculpture that you intend on buying. Listen to that story carefully and try to connect the dots. If the dates they talk about do not align, you need to walk away. This would help you in catching the seller off-guard.
Finally!
These are a few tricks that can be employed when determining the age of a bronze sculpture. Utter vigilance is demanded in such cases because you will hardly find a seller that holds strong values and morals in today’s world. Everyone is just in a race to earn more money, even if it comes at the cost of being a fraud.