The beginnings of a lost-wax casting technique in Mesopotamia revealed by the bust of Sargon’s [the Great's] son

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Reported by La Brújula Verde:

A recent study of an ancient Mesopotamian sculpture using cutting-edge technology has provided information about the earliest metal casting techniques in human history, revealing the technical challenges faced by artisans more than 4,000 years ago. The research, published in the journal Heritage Science, focused on the “Head of a Ruler“, an impressive copper piece that is part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and has recently been attributed to the Akkadian period of Mesopotamia, which developed between 2350 and 2150 B.C.

The team of researchers, led by J.-F. de Lapérouse of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, employed an advanced high-energy X-ray computed tomography technique to thoroughly examine the internal structure of the sculpture. This non-invasive method, carried out at the X-ray Analysis Center of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), allowed scientists to obtain an unprecedented three-dimensional view of the ancient work of art, revealing details about its creation process and the difficulties its creators faced.

The “Head of a Ruler“, which represents a bearded man with an elaborate braided hairstyle and interwoven ribbons, probably Rimush I of Akkad (second king of the Akkadian Empire and son of Sargon and his consort Tashlultum), is considered one of the earliest life-sized sculptures made using the hollow-core lost-wax casting technique. This technological innovation, which emerged in Mesopotamia during the third millennium B.C., marked a milestone in the history of metallurgy, allowing for the creation of larger and more naturalistic sculptures than was possible with earlier methods.

The tomographic analysis revealed that the sculpture has surprisingly thick metal walls in the front, measuring between 30 and 37 millimeters, while the back is considerably thinner, with a thickness of about 6 millimeters. This uneven distribution of metal undoubtedly posed a significant challenge for the casters of the time, who had to deal with issues related to the uneven solidification of the metal and the formation of trapped gas bubbles.

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