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From Back to Front
QUESTION:
 While
browsing a recent antique show, I discovered a delightful little copper
box with what looked like an embossed design. The dealer told me it was
probably made around the turn of the 20th century or at least before
World War I. She said the design was repoussé on copper. I’d like to
know more about this repoussé technique. Can you give me a bit of
history and an explanation of how it’s done?
Thanks,
Henry__________________________________________________________
ANSWER:
 There
are two techniques for hammering copper—chasing and repoussé. The
difference between the two is that chasing pushes the metal in from the
front side while repoussé pushes the metal out from the backside. Both
techniques frequently employ a semi-soft backing to support the work
material and confine the movement of the metal to the immediate area
around the tool.
While the word repoussé comes from the French word repoussage,
meaning "pushed up," the word chasing, which also derives from the
French word chasser, meaning ”to drive out.” Repoussé is a
metalworking technique in which an artisan shaped a malleable metal by
hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief.
Chasing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the
front side, sinking the metal. The two techniques are often used in
conjunction. Many metals can be used for chasing and repoussé work,
including gold, silver, copper, and alloys such as steel, bronze, and
pewter. Toolmarks are often intentionally left visible in the result.
 With
the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved
in intaglio in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as jet. The
gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly,
by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it.
Both techniques date from antiquity and have been used widely with gold
and silver for fine detailed work, such as the burial mask of King
Tutankhamun, and copper, tin, and bronze for larger sculptures, such as
the Statue of Liberty. Both methods require only the simplest tools and
materials, and yet allow great diversity of expression. They’re also
more affordable, since there’s no loss or waste of metal, which mostly
retains its original size and thickness.
 Before
the use of repoussé, ancient artisans pressed gold sheet into a die to
work it over a design in cameo relief. Here the detail would be greater
on the back of the final design, so some final chasing from the front
was often carried out to sharpen the detail.
In 1400 BCE, ancient Egyptians used resin and mud as a softer backing
for repoussé. The use of patterned punches dates back to the first half
of the 2nd millennium BCE Craftsman made the simplest patterned punches
using loops or scrolls of wire.
By 400 BCE., the ancient Greeks had begun using a combination of punches
and dies on a beeswax backing to produce repoussé on their bronze armor
plates.
The largest known sculpture created with this technique is the Statue of
Liberty in Upper New York Bay. The French artisans formed the statue
using copper repoussé in sections using wooden structures to shape each
piece during the hammering process.
The Keswick School of Industrial Arts
 The
resurgence of repoussé and chasing first occurred in England during the
late 19th century. Most notably was the work produced at the Keswick
School of Industrial Arts, founded in November 1884 in Kewwick, Cumbria,
England, by Canon Hardwicke and his wife, Edith Rawnsley. They
originally set it up in the Crosthwaite Parish Rooms as an evening class
in woodwork and repoussé metalwork under the supervision of a
professional woodcarver and a local jeweler. Hardwicke designed the
curriculum to teach new skills to unemployed workers during the winter
months.
 The
landscape and history of the English Lake District provided inspiration
for the students’ copper work. They borrowed interlaced patterns from
17th-century carved oak furniture, believing that they were Norse
motifs.
The school prospered and swiftly
developed a reputation for high quality copper and silver decorative
metalwork. By 1888 nearly 70 men were attending the classes. By 1890 the
school was exhibiting nationally and winning prizes; With the number of
students increasing, the school had outgrown its cramped home in the
parish rooms, and Rawnsley raised funds from the sales of the school’s
products for a purpose-built school nearby.
The Newlyn Industrial Class
 The
Newlyn Industrial Class, later renamed the Newlyn Art Metal Industry,
established in 1890 by John D. Mackensie, was similar to the Keswick
School with which it shared a common philanthropic purpose. Inspired by
the teachings of John Ruskin, it aimed to provide a source of employment
in small communities where work came and went with the seasons. At the
Newlyn classes, held in a net loft above a fish-curing yard, the
students were mainly fishermen, while at Keswick, pencil makers joined
laborers, gardeners, shepherds, and tailors learning new skills.
 Both
metal workshops specialized in the production of repoussé copper work,
The fact that this technique and material were popular with amateur
craftsmen and women across the country shows it was easy to learn. The
students turned copper sheets into simple three--dimensional objects
either by folding or using wooden forms and molds.
Mackensie taught repoussé work at the Newlyn School bringing many of his
favorite decorative motifs with him, such as fantasy creatures,
galleons, and suns. But the wildlife of the local coastline provided an
abundant source of imagery.
The Glasgow School
 The
Glasgow School of Art played a fundamental role in the development of
art metalwork in Scotland. Under the directorship of Francis Newberry,
instructors such as William Mellock Brown and Glasgow School graduates
Peter Wylie Davidson and De Courcy Lewthwaite Dewar taught repoussé
metalwork and enameling. The school equipped its students with the
skills necessary to establish their own independent craft studios, many
of them based on Hope Street in Glasgow.
In Glasgow, women dominated
metalwork. One of the Hope Street studios belonged to sisters Margaret
and Frances MacDonald. Another was the studio of sisters Mary and
Margaret Gilmour on West George Street. Both studios specialized in
hammered copper and brass work. Marion Henderson Wilson also produced
fine repoussé work. These Glasgow women were both designers and makers
who used base metals, including tin and lead as well as brass and
copper, to produce striking effects. The dullness of the beaten tin and
lead contrasted with the brightness of vivid enamels, especially on
picture frames.
The Technique of Repoussé
Depending on the size and complexity of the piece, the
technique of repoussé could be quite complex. To begin, an artisan
turned over a copper plate and firmed it again over the pitch with the
back side up. He or she would then perform the main repoussé work, using
a variety of punches.
Once the artisan had completed the main repoussé design, he or she would
release the piece by heating it. Then the artisan filled the cavities on
the back side, created by the repoussé work, with melted pitch. Once
that filling had hardened, the artisan again turned over the metal and
placed it on top of a layer of softened pitch. Once the pitch had
hardened, he or she refined the design by chasing. These procedures
could be repeated several times, alternating between repoussé and
chasing until the artisan had achieved the desired effect.
Punches for both repoussé and chasing were usually made of steel,
especially tool steel—a hard alloy that could keep its shape even after
years of use—forged and tempered at the tip. They usually had a beveled
rear end, to better handle the hammer blows. They could be purchased and
used as such, modified by the user to suit the needs of a specific work,
or made by the user from steel bar stock.
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