The Copper of the Kyffhäuser Monument

Abstract

Abstract The connection between copper and art goes way back. For thousands of years, the ductile metal has been worked in cold state via hammer and punch to make jewelry, vessels or monuments. More recent examples are the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Quadriga in Berlin and the equestrian statue of Emperor William I at the Kyffhäuser. During the recently completed renovation of the Kyffhäuser monument it was possible to perform a scientific examination on the copper of the equestrian statue. The examinations showed that the material is multiphase due to the content of oxygen and lead. With regard to the mechanical properties, the impurity phases are only of little importance. Details of the microstructure with a spatially coherent order of impurity phases, however, have never been observed in this way. The formation of the microstructure is discussed taking into account the particular circumstances of the artistic shaping via repoussé and chasing.