Bronze sculpture

Bronze, a metal alloy created by blending copper and tin over fire, symbolises constancy, glory and honour and was therefore the material of choice for instruments used for divine services such as candleholders, censers or pouring vessels. In the Middle Ages, the most commonly used bronze casting process was lost-wax casting. In this process, a wax model is coated with a heat-resistant material. When heated, the wax melts out of the mould, leaving it hollow. Liquid bronze is then poured into the mould.

Bronze figure of a man on a small pedestal holding two lamps in his hand

Male Figure as Candleholder (Acolyte),
Byzantine Empire, 6th cent., cast bronze, h. 23.5 cm, inv. no. H 851, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Ornate bronze egg-shaped vessel with perforations with chains and a hanger for carrying

Censer,
Aachen (?), 9th cent., cast bronze, H. 10.2 cm, inv. no. H 46, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Jesus figure of a crucifix made of bronze. There are holes in the hands and feet.

Crucifix of a Processional Cross, Rainer von Huy (?), Liège, c. 1110/1120, bronze (yellow brass), 16 x 17 cm, Inv. No. H 70, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

A bronze vessel in the shape of a church with removable roof as a lid

Container in the Form of a Church Model, Lower Rhine (Cologne?), 11th/12th cent., bronze, 5.3 x 10.1 cm, inv. no. H 43, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Bronze lion head holding a bronze ring in its mouth.

Lion’s Head Door Pull, Magdeburg (?), c. 1150, cast bronze, Ø 23 cm, inv. no. H 20, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Cross base with four winged figures sitting at the feet.

Vessel for the washing of hands (aquamanile) in the Shape of a Lion, Saxony (?), 2nd half 13th cent., bronze, 21 x 22.5 cm, inv. no. H 45, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Lion figure made of bronze. On his back is a kind of handle. From his mouth protrudes a short tube.

Base of an Altar Cross, Rhine-Meuse region, last quarter of the 12th cent., cast bronze, h. 15.5 cm, inv. no. G552, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

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