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NOBLE METALS
The NOBLE metals group includes some of the most exotic and valuable metallic elements found in art and design works – gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium and rhodium. Of these metals, fine gold, silver and their respective alloys are the most important, though platinum also occasionally features. Whilst most closely associated with jewellery designs and dental reconstruction, noble metals also play an important part in the fine art tradition. This includes antiquities of significant cultural importance such as those from areas of Asia Minor, South America, Central Europe and North Africa. Inevitably much of the fine sculptural work produced in these metals today is somewhat limited both in scale and quantity, in part due to shifts in the cultural perceotion on the uses of these metals, but more obviously (certainly from the average fine artist’s point of view), material costs.
Like most other metals used for casting, noble metals are usually alloyed with additional elements, variously added to enhance the material’s working properties and visual presentation. High purity golds and silvers are exceptionally MALLEABLE and DUCTILE metals. Objects formed in these fine metals can be relatively easy to deform by hand alone. To harden fine noble metals and improve their casting characteristics, important alloying elements such as COPPER and ZINC are added in (variable) quantities according to the production processes and the intended use of the finished object.
Unlike the other metals described in this section, gold and silver are both subject to a specific system of weight measurement. Whereas copper and aluminium alloys are quoted in kilogrammes, or imperial pounds/tons weight; the standard measure of gold and silver is the TROY WEIGHT or TROY OUNCE, the metric equivalent of 1 troy oz being 31.10g.
Although most art founders can potentially cast sculpture in a noble metal, it is usually advisable for artists to use foundries with access to specialist production equipment and expertise in this area of foundry work. Manufacturers wishing to sell works in gold, silver and platinum may also be subject to specific legislation. If necessary designers should contact their local ASSAY OFFICE (UK) or other national equivalent, to ensure compliance with relevant statutes.
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