depth. This was later adapted to become the technique known today as tracing. By the late Archaic period (c. 500–480 BCE) sphyrelaton lost popularity as lost-wax casting became the primary means of producing bronze sculpture. Lost-wax casting of bronze was achieved in three different ways, each with its own desired effects. The first and earliest method was solid casting, which required a model of the sculpture to be fashioned in solid wax and then carved. The second method was hollow lost-wax casting, which was created by a direct process. Finally, the third was hollow lost-wax casting by an indirect process. The model is packed in clay, and then heated in what today would be similar to a kiln to remove the wax and harden the clay. Then, the mold is inverted and metal poured inside it to create a cast. When cooled, the bronze-smith cracks open the clay model to reveal a solid bronze replica. For smaller details, sculptors often made eyes out of glass and painted on body hair, clothing details, and skin color. Lost in antiquity, most historical knowledge of how certain bronze statues would have looked comes from studying surviving Roman marble copies. Gallery Exhibitions September 15, 2012 – December 9, 2012 at the Royal Academy of Arts "Bronze" July 16, 2009 – February 8, 2010 at the Getty Villa See also Capitoline Wolf, a bronze long thought to be of 4th-century BCE Etruscan origin, but possibly medieval. References Ugo Bardi, 1997. "The Chimaera of Arezzo" Animals in art Etruscan sculptures Etruscan mythology Treasure troves of Italy National Archaeological Museum, Florence Archaeological discoveries in Italy 5th-century BC sculptures