Tecnologia dei bronzi artistici. Studio termografico di quattro capolavori.

The technology of artistic bronz- es. Thermographic study of four masterpieces · Bronze statuary is one of the most wide- spread forms of expression in the produc- tion of historical-artistic goods. Since antiq- uity, lost-wax casting, a technique charac- terised by numerous and complex phases, has been the most widely used method for the production of bronze artefacts. In this regard, in the study of bronzes, the char- acterisation of structural and sub-surface elements can be a valuable tool for recon- structing the main steps of the production process and for obtaining information on the state of conservation of the work. For this purpose, infrared thermography has proved to be an extremely useful technique. As shown in this article, this technique has been successfully used to study four mas- terpieces : the Brutus and the Capitoline Wolf, kept in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, and the so-called Hellenistic Prince and Boxer at Rest, kept in the National Roman Museum. The data that emerged from these studies made it possible to non- destructively characterise a broad spec- trum of elements, such as flaws, repairs and decorative inserts, and to characterise certain thermal properties of the alloys.