Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Forging Technology of High-Tin Bronzes in Ancient Bengal


Affiliations
1 Former Faculty of Archaeometallurgy, Institute of Archaeology, Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi 110 002, India
2 Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India
3 Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur 713 209, India
 

High-tin bronze or β -bronze, commonly known as bell metal came into existence as a cast metal since late second millennium BC. The general composition of 23 Sn–Cu holds good reputation as a castable alloy. But it offers enormous difficulty in forging due to its narrow forging range as well as its metastable thermodynamics of incomplete phases prevalent in the Cu–Sn system. Though widely used in castings for manufacturing gongs and bells throughout the world, only few people of the ancient world could achieve the mastery of forging this alloy into thin sheets. Ancient Bengal had been one of those few centres where circular bowls or tumblers or pots of very thin sections were manufactured. Some ethno-archaeological studies were also conducted on Bengal artisans presently engaged in this forging trade.

Keywords

Forging Technology, High-Tin Bronze, Superplasticity.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Reiner, L., Ancient Chinese bronze casting. Copper Top., 2007, 32(4), 11–15.

  • Tylecote, R. F., A History of Metallurgy, Metals Society, London, 1976, vols. 36, 58, pp. 71–75.

  • Bian, X. et al., Medium-range order and viscosity of molten Cu-23% Sn alloy. Mater. Lett., 2003, 57, 2001–2006.

  • Hamani, M. S. and Laissaoui, R., Role of tin and zinc on the properties of liquid copper. Asian J. Infor. Technol., 2006, 5(12) 1351–1355.

  • ASM Metal Handbook, ‘Casting’, American Society for Metals, 1992, vol. 15, p. 771.

  • ibid., Gases in Copper Alloys, 86.

  • West, E. G., Copper and its Alloys, John Wiley, New York, USA, 1982, pp. 172–173.

  • Mandal, B., Chattopadhyay, P. K. and Datta, P. K., Characterization of a Pala-Sena high-tin bronze bowl from Bengal, India, SAS Bull., 2008, 31(3), 12–17.

  • Datta, P. K., Chattopadhyay, P. K. and Ray, A., New evidence for high-tin bronze in Ancient Bengal. SAS Bull., 2007, 30(2) 13–16.

  • ASM Metal Handbook, ‘Casting’, American Society for Metals, 1992, vol. 15, p. 126.

  • Cortie, M. B. and Mavrocordatos, C. E., The decomposition of the beta phase in the copper–tin system. Met. Trans. A, 1991, 22, 11– 18.

  • Thomas, G., The Structure and Hardness of Martensite, in Electron Microscopy and Strength of Crystals (eds Thomas, G. and Washburn, J.), Interscience Publishers, NY, USA, 1963, pp. 917– 939.

  • Wayman, C. M., Introduction to the Crystallography of Martensitic Transformations, Macmillan, NY, USA, 1964, p. 331.

  • Tylecote, R. F., A History of Metallurgy, The Metal Society, London, 1976, p. 12.

  • Chattopadhyay, P. K., Kansaris of Bengal. In Past and Present – Ethnoarchaeology in India (eds Sengupta, G., Roychoudhury, S.and Som, S.), 2006, pp. 347–357.

  • Mukherjee, M., Metal Craftsmen of India, Anthropological Survey, Calcutta, 1978.

  • Ashby, M. F., A first report on deformation-mechanism maps. Acta Metall., 1972, 20, 882; 887–897.

  • Haasen, P., Physical Metallurgy, Cambridge University, UK, 1997, pp. 120–125.

  • Sleeswyk, A. W., Acta Met., 1962, 10, 705.

  • Saunders, N. and Miodownik, A. P., Phase Diagrams of Binary Copper Alloys, Electro Chemical Publications Limited, Ayr, Scotland, 1989, pp. 412–417.

  • Mahajan, S. and Williams, D. F., Int. Met. Rev., 1973, 18, 43.

  • Haasen, P., Physical Metallurgy, Cambridge University, UK, 1997, pp. 327–329.

  • Lagerlof, K. P. D., In Dislocations ‘93, Solid State Phen. (eds Rabier, J. et al.), 1994, 601, 35–36.

  • Haasen, P., Physical Metallurgy, Cambridge University, UK, 1997, vol. 20, p. 414.

  • International Scientific Meeting, Japan: Asian high-tin bronzes. JSPS Nagae, T., The manufacturing process and heat treatment of high-tin bronze modern India and South Korea: A report on the temperature controlled in hot working and heat treatment: 2010, 23–30 and 145–151.

  • Ranganathan, S., Srinivasan, S. and Glover, I., Indian high tin bronzes: a continuing tradition from ancient to modern times. In Asian High tin Bronzes: Production Technology Regional Characteristics, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, 2010, pp. 201–210.

  • Chttopadhyay, P. K., Arijit Khanra and Datta, P. K., Reconstruction of Forging Technology Principles of High-Tin Bronzes in Ancient Bengal. In Proceedings of Beginning of Use of Metals, BUMA VIII, 2013, pp. 337–341.


Abstract Views: 279

PDF Views: 112




  • Forging Technology of High-Tin Bronzes in Ancient Bengal

Abstract Views: 279  |  PDF Views: 112

Authors

Pranab K. Chattopadhyay
Former Faculty of Archaeometallurgy, Institute of Archaeology, Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi 110 002, India
Prasanta Kumar Datta
Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India
Barnali Maji
Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur 713 209, India

Abstract


High-tin bronze or β -bronze, commonly known as bell metal came into existence as a cast metal since late second millennium BC. The general composition of 23 Sn–Cu holds good reputation as a castable alloy. But it offers enormous difficulty in forging due to its narrow forging range as well as its metastable thermodynamics of incomplete phases prevalent in the Cu–Sn system. Though widely used in castings for manufacturing gongs and bells throughout the world, only few people of the ancient world could achieve the mastery of forging this alloy into thin sheets. Ancient Bengal had been one of those few centres where circular bowls or tumblers or pots of very thin sections were manufactured. Some ethno-archaeological studies were also conducted on Bengal artisans presently engaged in this forging trade.

Keywords


Forging Technology, High-Tin Bronze, Superplasticity.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv118%2Fi11%2F1822-1831