For the lost-wax (or cire perdue) method, the scheme of a “lost model” lies at the core of this process. The clay mold, as an investment onto the model, does not have to be composed in sections, detached from the model, and reassembled. Hence, this process is also termed as “investment casting,” which is a more inclusive appellation with respect to other meltable substances that occasionally substituted wax.
Equipped with a comparative mindset, this project conducts a comprehensive investigation of the investment casting in pre-Han China (before 206 BCE). By carefully examining artifacts related to the investment casting housed in both Chinese and Western institutions, this project places all detected technological variations of this process in juxtaposition. It also painstakingly investigates the burial contexts, dates, distribution, and chronological changes of the investment cast artifacts in both Inner China and its cultural frontiers. In addition, this study looks for the social dynamics behind early investment castings, and compares this technique with other major metallurgical processes in pre-Han China (e.g., traditional section-mold casting and the pattern-block process of mass production). These comparisons are conducted with special attentions to craft production, consumption, circulation, patronage, and market competition, in order to establish a fuller picture of metallurgy, art, and agency in early China.
