Cire Perdue

The ‘cire perdue’ method (also called lost wax) is a way of casting bronze statues and other objects.

A model of the object or statue is made out of wax and then encased to make a mold. Once the mold is made the wax is then drained away, and the hollow left behind filled with molten bronze to create the object. If the bronze object needs to be hollow itself, then a heat proof core can be introduced into the mold, before pouring the bronze.

This is a very ancient method of bronze casting, dating from the 3rd millenium BC, and has changed very little since then.