HOLMES.] USE OF GOLD AND COPPER. 37 



siiing the matter fiullici' wr find a sint^ular iirrft'ction in the joining, 

 which amounts to a CI lalcscrnci' (if ihr metals dl' t lie two parts con- 

 cerned. There is no Wfakiicss nv ti'mlriicy td part along the contact 

 surfaces, neither is there anything like the parting of parallel wires 

 in coils or where a series of wires is joined side by side and carried 

 througli varic Ills convolutions. In a number of cases I made sections 

 of coils and jiaits composed of a number of wires, in the hope of 

 discovering evidences of the individuality of the strands, but the 

 metal in the section is always homogeneous, breaking with a rough, 

 granular fracture, and not more readily along apj^arent lines of junc- 

 tion than across them ; and further, in studying in detail the surface 

 of parts unpolished or protected from wear by handling, we find 

 everywhere the granular and pitted uuevenness characteristic of cast 

 surfaces. This is true of the wire forms as well as of the massive 

 parts, and, in addition to this, such defects occur in the wires as 

 would hardly be possible if they were of wrought gold. 



All points considered, I am inclined to believe that the objects were 

 cast, and cast in their entirety. It is plain, however, that the original 

 model was made up of separately constructed parts of wire or wire- 

 like strands and of eccentric and often rather massive parts, and that 

 all were set together by the assistance of pressure, the indications 

 being that the material used was sufficiently plastic to be worked 

 after the manner of clay, dough, or wax. In one case, for example, 

 the body of a serpent, consisting of two wires neatly twisted together, 

 is held in the hand of a grotesque figure. The hand consists of four 

 fingers made by doubling together two short pieces of wire. The coil 

 has been laid across the hand and pressed down into it iintil half 

 buried, and the ends of the fingers are drawn up around it without 

 any indication of hammer strokes. Indeed, the effect is just such as 

 would have been produced if the artist had worked in wax. Again, 

 in the modeling of the eyes we have a good illustration. The eye is 

 a minute ball cleft across the entire diameter by a sharp implement, 

 t-hus giving the effect of the parted lids. N"ow. if the material had 

 been gold or cop] ler. as in tlie siiecinieiis. the ball would have been 

 sepai-atedintdlwdparts.ii- lieinispheivs, which w.nild \u,t exhiliit any 

 great ilistorti.ni: i)ut as we see them here the parts are flattened and 

 much drawn out by the pressure of the cutting edge, just as if the 

 material had been decidedly plastic. 



It seems to me that the ]irocesse.s of manufacture must have been 

 analogous to those emiil<i\i'd hy the moi-e primitive metal workers of 

 our own day. In ()i-ieiital countries ilelicate objects of bronze and 

 other metals are made as follows: A model is constructed in some 

 such material as wax or resin and over it are placed coatings of clay 

 or other substance capable of standing great heat. These coatings, 

 when sufficient 1\ thickened and properly dried, form the mold, from 

 which the original model is extracted by means of heat. The fused 



