The quality of spelter is in its casting. The beauty of its finished patina – when spelter is cast it is produced without flaws – creates sculptural works that are perfect in form. However, pieces of spelter, dating from the early twentieth century to the present day are now much sought after. In the past spelter has often been overlooked by art dealers in preference to bronze. What is the difference between a spelter Art Deco sculpture and a bronze Art Deco sculpture?

There are beautiful examples of craftsmanship from this era. There was a lack of copper for bronze-making thus pushing forward spelter as a notable decorative material of choice. In the second decade of the 20 th century increases in the production of spelter arose from copper production being utilised for military munitions during WWI. In the decorative arts world it made it an ideal material for small-scale works of sculpture. One nineteenth century writer observed that it was so supple he could wrap a shaving of it around his finger. In a raw state it is brittle when cold but pliable when heated to 100-150 degrees centigrade. Demand for spelter increased during the mid-nineteenth century. It was sold under the name of ‘spiauter’, and ‘spialter’, later changed in Europe to speltrum and known today as ‘spelter’. Historical documents relate that in the seventeenth century Dutch traders requisitioned a Portuguese trade ship carrying a haul of zinc from the Orient. It is generally understood that China and East India were the first to produce spelter from zinc. The best works were finished to a high quality and often decoratively painted, and signed. In the Art Deco period (from the second decade of the twentieth century reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s), bronze was the choice of material for many sculptors creating fashionable objets d’art, identified with the fashion, theatre, music, and films of the era. Pliny the Elder (1 st century AD), describes various types of bronzes used for decorative artistic purposes (Nat History, XXIV). The metal terms ‘bronze’ ‘copper’ and ‘brass’ are all recorded in the earliest Classical writings. In ancient times ‘bronze’ was a term that could denote copper or the far more durable alloy fusion of copper and tin. It is worth taking a moment to consider the difference between an Art Deco sculpture made in bronze and one made in spelter, and the qualities of each material. Today, art dealers are taking great interest in spelter, first introduced to Europe from the Orient by Dutch and Portuguese traders in the seventeenth century. In modern times creating a work in bronze continues that tradition but other materials in metal offer, and at times exceed, the beauty of earlier precedents. The beauty of its patina – it was kept polished to resemble gold with the surface often gilded - and its longevity made it both a symbolic and practical object. In Classical times bronze was a prized material for life-size sculptures, and smaller temple offerings. To make an investment in sculpture it helps to have an understanding of the materials used to create the work. Text © Jean-Noel Cabanettes and Rosalind Ormiston for 1930fr.īuyers of Art Deco sculptures are often confused about the significance of different metal materials – bronze, spelter, metal alloys – used in their creation.

Patina definition in art