Founded in 2005 by Charles Haupt and Otto du Plessis, this creative studio blended bronze and cutting-edge design that has shaped the ancient material well beyond traditional expectations.

​The Bronze Age Foundry earned the patronage of leading local artists William Kentridge, Bruce Arnott, Wim Botha, Brett Murray, Eduardo Villa and Dylan Lewis among others, as well as the Southern Guild gallery, it enjoyed a global reputation and collaborations with international artists.

Bronze is an extraordinary metal, an alloy of mainly copper, silicon and manganese called silicone bronze that naturally responds to different elements in its environment. As such, it forms what is commonly known as a patina, which subsumes a vast range of colourations that can be controlled for effect. At the same time, as it is exempt from all other forms of environmental degradation, other than melting under extreme heat conditions, it is truly timeless and has afforded us some of the most compelling artefacts and masterpieces of human history. 

An artist’s bronze is remarkable in that the object underwent an individual and complex production process, in interaction with human and material variables. Each stage is required to meet the demands of the artist’s original concept in order to qualify as a legitimate part of an edition.

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Bronze Age's cast bronze bowls are all hand-made, in unique shapes, patinas and textures using the Lost Wax' technique, with a striking gold leaf interior

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This process reproduces an original form that can be made from any combination of transient materials ranging from wax and clay to plaster and found things, into ‘a bronze’. This alloy of copper and other metalloids has been favoured since 4000 B.C. for its resistance to time and responsiveness to the elements. While modern materials like silicon and fibreglass have changed the way wax models are produced, improving the fidelity essential for editioned artworks, the casting process remains identical to the earliest known examples.

 

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