Erte Bronze/Sculpture
"Astra"
LE #26 /500 is a limited edition cast bronze from 1988.
It stands 19.5" tall. The dominant patina is blue with polished gold detailing and a 14k gold chain. The base displays the artist's "ERTE" signature along with "The Sevenarts Ltd", London copyright and foundry mark."Astra-It is Venus, the goddess of love and beauty admiring her face in a star shpped mirror" -Romain de Tirtoff (Erte
Dimensions
19.5 X 11 X 6in
Erte Process of producing a bronze:
First, the artist models the sculpture in clay. A plaster mold of the model is made, from which a plaster cast is produced and the details are refined. After the plaster cast has been carefully checked to be sure that it is accurate, and final changes have been made, a flexible rubber mold is made from the plaster. This mold enables every detail to be captured. Molten wax is poured into the rubber mold, producing a faithful wax casting of the sculpture. This casting is then checked for detail and cleaned up, following which the wax cast is dipped into a bath of liquid ceramic to produce another mold. After several days, when the ceramic mold is dry, it is heated to melt the wax, which runs out through openings in the mold, leaving a cavity in its place (Hence the term lost wax). The mold is then fired in a kiln to bake the ceramic to a high degree of hardness. The final casting made by pour molten bronze into the cavity. When the bronze has cooled, the ceramic mould is carefully broken away, revealing the bronze sculpture within. Then the piece is sandblasted and chased to clean it up and removed imperfections. Finally, the sculpture is treated with chemicals and heat to achieve the desired patinas.