Pencil - Stilus out of real bronze
A massive writing object is the pencil "stilus" out of real bronze. This is an ancient writing object for writing on wax tablets in a luxurious model, made in the process of melting wax.
Here the pointed end for writing letters or numbers. The flat end is some kind of eraser for smoothing the increased writing.
This massive, real bronze pencil was fabricated very lavishly with the traditional technique of the "lost form". For that for every pencil an own wax model is made and put into an form out of plaster. The form is heated for the wax flowing out of the sprue. The metal is heated and put into the whole inside the form of plaster. Afterwards we destroy the form and clean the raw cast. Finally the blank is polished and the bronze writing object can be cleaned to shine!
The pencil today
The pencil as a writing object was used for writing on slates or wax tablets until the 60s of the 20th century. The look of the pencil mostly was round or squared, consisted out of iron, bronze, bone ore sometimes silver. The pencil's end was pressed into the was for writing. With the flat end mistakes could be corrected. Because of smoothing the wax the tablets could be used again. Some Roman pencil had the form of the bust of the goddess Minerva, because she was considered as the goddess of protection for teachers and poets.
What an extraordinary "notebook" with the massive bronze handmade writing object.
- length of the pencil circa 11,5 cm
- made in the process of melting wax
- stable bronze cast
- completely usable
Roman fabrication technique of its finest
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