I always remind my team that metal casting is over 5,000 years old. This art started in a period of time known as the Bronze Age! We use the same core principles today. Modern tools like CAD/CAM, 3-D printing, and solidification modeling software make the trade much better. Yet, we still call it “foundry practice” because we never fully perfect it. Instead, we are always ‘practicing’ to get it right.
Despite our advanced technology, ancient craftsmen faced the same challenges we do. I was reminded of this during a Christmas family vacation to Rome last week.
A major highlight of our trip was visiting monuments and churches to see works of architecture and art. In the Braccio Nuovo wing of the Vatican Museum, we found two interesting cast and gilded bronze peacock statues. These are the only survivors of a whole series that stood around Hadrian’s tomb (now the Castel Sant’Angelo) after his death in 138 AD. The peacock was a Roman symbol for the afterlife.
Upon closer inspection, a foundryman could easily spot classic casting defects like shrinkage, oxides, and misruns. Without modern weld repair, ancient smiths fixed these mistakes by a clever method. They scraped an impression around the defect. Then, they carefully hammered and inserted another piece of parent metal to cover it up. While this worked for art, modern military specs, radiographic inspections, and liquid penetrant tests would never allow this bird to fly!
Across the city at the Capitoline Museums, we viewed even larger ancient bronze statues. The most famous is the gilded bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on his horse, cast in 176 AD. (There is also a modern 1981 copy in the Piazza del Campidoglio courtyard because the original was taken down for restoration.) I was equally amazed by the colossal bronze head and hand of Emperor Constantine, made after his death in 337 AD.
These colossal castings are remarkably intact. They showcase a deep understanding of superior foundry practice, especially getting such massive pours to run completely. Like the peacocks, they are filled with metallurgical issues and ancient repairs. Still, they are great works of art. They exude the knowledge of artists who truly lived and breathed the craft.
Needless to say, my family and I left the Eternal City with great travel memories. Witnessing these ancient casting techniques gave me a new appreciation for my own profession. I will always ponder the same excitement and bewilderment that comes after each casting is knocked out—no doubt, the exact same feelings these ancient craftsmen experienced two thousand years ago!
John D. Danko
President
Danko Arlington, Inc.
©2026