Terracotta – The material made from the 4 elements – Earth, water, fire and air
Copper – The 5th element
The elegant objects and sculptures from punto.cotto have been copper-coated according to a craft technique dating from the nineteenth century, known as copper plating. This involves forming a galvanic coating with a thin film of copper. This procedure enables nonmetallic objects to be covered with a copper coating, after suitable pre-treatment. This copper coating can then be oxidated and patinated, giving the object the fine appearance of a real copper or bronze sculpture. In doing this, the „touch of the sculptor“ which is typical of terracotta is not lost, however, but instead can be made even clearer with specific polishing. The changing shades of colour, from gleaming reddish brown to matt greenish-black give the object an extremely vivid appearance, accentuating its originality and completing the handcrafted value of the sculptor’s work.
The craft technique
The Philipp Basche craft workshop has been working with this technique since 1897 and copper-coats the exclusive sculptures and objects from the punto.cotto collection as a special finish, exclusively for punto.cotto. The selected objects are also fired in hot beeswax. This makes the terracotta surface, the conductive layer, and the non-metallic base electrically conductive, which is essential for the galvanic process. The object is then placed in a galvanic copper bath. The foundation for the galvanic process is the shift of ions. From large copper plates, the anodes shift the copper ions through the electrolyte, an acidic fluid, with continuous current, to the cathode – copper-coating the object. This technique dates from the research of the scientist Hermann von Jacobi for the Tsar Nicholas at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and is even now of great importance for the basic art. Once the object is completely covered in copper, it is taken out of the copper bath and worked on with frictional and engraving tools. Then comes the oxidation and patination, and the final polish with beeswax, which allows the sculptor to accentuate the desired colours, to bring out the unfading beauty of the object.