How was this made?
By Gracyn Benck '23
Brass, bronze, and other metals could be shaped by various methods including casting, hammering, turning, and spinning. A common technique was that of casting, which refers to the process of making a metal object by pouring molten metal into a refractory void with a mold, allowing the metal to solidify. It is most likely, though, that the Crusader’s Bowl was made by hammering. This is due to the thin metal that makes up the body of the bowl. Hammering is done by shaping a sheet of metal by repeated blows of a hammer.
The foot of the bowl, however, could have been cast and then given additional shaping from spinning. Spinning refers to shaping metal or vessels into round shapes by forcing the sheet or object against metal or wood while it rotates on a spinning lathe. This requires a large amount of force especially when applied to thick metal made by a cast.
The engraving, or ornament, was cut into the surface of the bowl by means of a tool such as a graver or burin. The bowl also has an “inscription” (pseudo-Arabic). Inscriptions were often made on metal objects by drawing with a pointed instrument across the surface to produce lines. The tool used to produce the lines is called a scriber.