Part of a Letter Written in Latin to Thomas Gale, S. T. D. Sccret. Reg. Soc. from Carniola, By Mr. John Weichard Valvasor Liber Baro; Containing the Method of Casting Statues in Metal;

Part of a Letter Written in Latin to Thomas Gale, S. T. D. Sccret. Reg. Soc. from Carniola, ByMr. John Weichard Valvasor Liber Baro; Containing the Method of Casting Statues in Metal;Together with An Invention of His for Making Such Cast Statues of An ExtraordinaryThinness, beyond Any Thing Hitherto Known or PractisedAuthor(s): John WeichardSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 16 (1686 - 1692), pp. 259-262Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/101877 .

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Paet of a Lettcr written zx [vtz- to T-h:olll-as {;ale, S. T. D Secret. Reg. <8C. frosg Calonio la) Z^y Mr. John Weishard Valvatol iiber Baro; soglfZsirev tbe hLt{orl pf safltE?g adtacs in-Aldali together Y?7St/J dtt Iasegtiva of his for >Xv4Sx fiuct saJi Statzes of an exfraor«linarythinvefs, be)1anda- Sy t2iS 3itWrt0 -ksow* ar praS+ed.

Scnd you -likewife my lMretllod of caLlillg Statues irv Metal, irl oidietlce to tIze Cotntuands of the Royal

Society- ;- it is as follows. fir,g, I forai gt of gDod Clay, tilat will endure t-lle Fire, and not crack eitllel ; ln dryirg or burnin fgll a Figure zor Statue as I deSle to cal:i , when ttliS iS well dry, I mWke, a11 - over ttle Figure, littie holes of no great depth ( but botll Gze and depth propor- -t1onate to -the btgnefs of the Statue ) lnto whtcll I ler fnall pieces of Metal-, and witla fome of the fame Clay zISx tllem Erm-ly in the holes ; t1at uSe of tllefe bitts of Me-

talX malki in lSigtlre. I. , 47 , is to keep tlae Core

and MoglX from touching one rlle other, or falling togetller when thRe Wax runs out; andthat tlley m-ay vemain conflcantly in the- fatne fist Pofiure. rl-his done? I fcrape

away witla Some proper InRrum-ent as mucll of tlle Clay

in thickrlefs as I defign for the-tllicknefs of my Statue, and

then laying it in a Purnace, I burn the core till it be -red-

laor. ( by tlae Core I mean always the Statue firll made in

Clay ) -\lVhell it is wld- I rub the Care all over with that

fort of F.arth or coloulX svhich our German Potters uSe, to

colour the joynts of the Tiles wlatn theyXett Stoves of

tFilesor (Kachel-Ofens ;) l'his CoIoul reSembles mucll

tllat thicll the Prench call Plowb de mer - ( BlJck Lexd3 Kk r -\glliCll'



[ :6o J

wlcll is uSed to defign ort Paper and eafilty svipes out witls Bread, but it is not tlle fam>: this colour I mix \Vltll -

tsr} ar.ld daub all over rlle Care becauSe the lMetal is found to run freely upon it. T1<ere are otller SllbOances pre per fol tilis purpofe? but I 11ave alstrays made uSe of ttlisn eSpecially fbr thin Statut. lshis done I lay on upo3z tlae Core as mucll yellow Wax mised--witll Pitcla or }tolsln as will nlake the thickneIs of tlle intond>d StatueX svilicll ]: fiorm ill tl.le XVax xvitll all t119 exat:tnefs poINlble.

Here note tllat tlle Paleticles of Metal mentioned to be Ser into tloe Gore wto keep it at a diRance from tIze Mold .IllUR be rO it AS t0 itl in vitla tte furl-ace of the Wax ex- aFtly : and that tlle reaSon of mixinb Pitcll or Roflll 2 svitl -t11c \AJax is, becauSc tllat when itis- burnt OUt it makes a great Smoak,, and tlaat fmoak adilering to tlae MoAn' ^;>^^8Ca- f1ons tlzc lMctal to runtmor_ fi eeiy: as I llave expelinnW W it Next I put all.over upon t}le rurface of t-is S<Uso oLs Wax.> Iittle pieces of \Vax svlaicll I call tlle- litl:e cila*lols; in tlle Figure nlat Lied r c. c. c. rX cv ( all sTIllcll nluit be- contri- ved So as to ellter itlto tlle great Cllatlels d. Z d. ) Tllis don>, eI cover titAe C:GHE and xvax all over witla tlae Iime Wol t of CIav, tllAt Nvill end-ul e the Filt svxtbout crackin ; and fo I laave nay Concas7e SLatue ot A4tould made. Up!Ota tllts I Iay the great C:lwancls marlied i. d. d. d{. botll upriallt andtranSvet"i} fi£nacllikesvifein-WaxX and placed ac- cording to JudgatlentX fo as be to recelve tlle ellds of t1ze Iittle t>llanels-c.a.>*v.s. tortLe tnore ealle dtRributJvrl of tIse Me-talr tRlleSe great -Cisanels mu a11 Ineetat tlae

tOp .of tI.ze SLatucy Io as to come out by ont lloley as at E^7 nvilere t11c D<C;-al is to be-p-Oured in; it is rO ndCt«lrXr tO

!lavea Cllanel o1* tssZo to Ivt out tbe jtir as tlle lKSetalens t*ri as -tllole markedf:f: and there lmult be a laole.tv tsvo Ieft at the fooL, asg.g) svlacre the great Claanels and sXIaso Cn. Statue joyn; and svXleicat, wllent}e lMouldisbul{aty tlle wax as xvd11 of the StatuW a.s of thc Cllanels may l un clut.-- Tl:tegreat C;Lwauels boing tItus piaccd tlle Mollld

muR



[ 56I ]

lnuit be again Iaid over with tlle Eame fort- of Clay. f I ufe conRandy to bind abqut tlae Mollld with Iron Wire and tllen lay on tnore Clay ) and whell this Mould is well dvies ttlen I Ileat it red hor ; as I did bfiore the Core, fo nov l)otll togetiler.

Tlle firIzc time I praEticed tllis metllod, I burnt botll Core arld 3!viould togetlxerX and all vlle fmall bitts of NIetal melted SO tllat, tllougll it claancd to Succeed wrell} er I ssras in great danger of mircalriage ; and evel rlnce I

bu1t1 tlle Core fi;, -tllat WO there may not lleed fo Ilrong a fire to butn tlle IvEoxld: -but for fmall rnanageableStatues of nc)t above a foot or two lligll7 they may -be botla- burnt togetller, and there is no need olitlae lloles g.g, but tile Gllo*twld may be inverted, and rlle \Nt-ax run out by tlle Chan * tIs fv g and E. . .

Tl¢ Aloxld being tbus burllt, l llop svltll tlle fime Clav tlle twXo Iloles g. g. and therl I bU1 y tt in a pit7 alld pro. ceed as is uSual in caIling -of 13C11s and tlle lske, bllt- care muf} be- taketl tlaat the Udetal be very mJell in fuXion.

If it b¢a fmal! Statue not above a foot or two higll7 wlloSe otglg may be managed in ones 11ands; tllen I make me a concae Statut (3f Wax, offtlle tlaiclneSs I delslre>*and tI1eli place up3n it Mall tllore great qnd leXer Chaiiels, as afore: wllich done I )ut it all togatller, into a liquld EubI:callce Inade of Plaiticr aIid Tile or Brick dul} tempred svitll wa- ter; but I doubt tnot but tlae rvay of cating in PlaiEer is sveil kt1own irz LondRo> and tlwcrefote Ilall: not need to

. . . .

\Mlitt 1t. If ttle Statut be itltencled very tllin, tllen I take Coppel;

and vllen it is well in fursonX I n:aix witll it a good quantit ty of tinc w-itl1out-obServing any certan proportion of veip;l1t; tJle nzore knc the better t}Re- Metal runs.: I

llave fometimes for E1na11 and thin Statues pUt iN above-a vlaitd part of Zxac nGw ,inc is a certain Mirleral Sub- -fi.nce like Marcwfte or BiJantxtAvn ial French dx Ziaai w th- out it our srolk svould not Succeed if it be very thin, arld

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[ E6: ] g 1Raw found w tz£perxnz that this Mt-nem1^ azakes t1w Metat run moR fkel-j and gives ff a hir galden Cov- our.

Tlae SPALMe being cafE I tR1EC oF elle MoS arid Ct1t Oi a11 rlle little CIlanels ; all svtlicil botil great ateld ftnall ale

filledwitll Meta! wlaichmaylezkepthfotfiittlacrsge: In tllete tlaciwe is rtluch more Meral tllan in -thowloie Sta- tue; for if the jStatue be very tlli97 tllere muft be 1nofe

and bigge1 Cllallncls; aM rO the clleapnr tlie tlle staEue

tllemore utetOllty tlle Cllantls arod tl}e more MCtal re- mailzing.

t18o knor tl-e quanttry -of Metal requitite fiol lny in-

tended srolk I take-a lutnp of tl-te fitne mixt-ure off Wax and PitcIzy utitll s^rllicla I make the Mw-#W/d of nzy Statue ; and 11aving sveigiled it, I make a Mvld upon itf and caIt in tIle fame-a lump ;o-f Metle; of ti Wame Size; w:llich I weigll and ltcre5)7 corepute tlle ploportionfof tlWe - weigllt

of rlle Mettle and- Wax; then obEerving l-low- -many pounds of Vfax ]: ufe about tl}e Figure and Chanels7 - I can calculate to a iall matter how mlltIz Metal I need- to melt

TIlis is- my manner Qf C&Rthg- -fi2tUCS verv>thtn7 and whicl> algrais ficceeded - lappily witllS nac. Hithei to I lzave calic no fiatu;e above nine foot liigh, but I dolli not lJut I couldX by the fime methods ca onefflof anyblg- nois dv51red Arld r<;ea mre- thatl be -moreat;cafe fiom

our ill ncighiur thz I will ca at one filfion thsl. Sta

tue of our EtnpcJ our L(PJ9IS{$ I iCf*.tSing on HQL SbaC2t) much greater tha-n tt>1t Ii-ft; 1E *have bcen already in treaty about the charges thereof witi' the States of tt1IS Country; and if tlleRe Brkiffi troubles Ilad not conze Ilpon us it had been no.Xv Stilazed kcv

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Documents

Part of a Letter Written in Latin to Thomas Gale, S. T. D. Sccret. Reg. Soc. from Carniola, By Mr. John Weichard Valvasor Liber Baro; Containing the Method of Casting Statues in Metal;