[C. Garzon]

So, to start off of, about me... I'm going into 3d modeling, I'm not really a metalworking genius unless you call making flaky aluminum nuggets something noteworthy ;-). Recently I taken one a small project about making a castle town, and a black-smith happens to be one of the buildings I'm going to be making.

I was considering making some bronze swords for to be hung up on the smithing room, and at the same time I was kind-of learning how to texture objects so they would look like metal. So, I did some research and I found very few bronzy-looking swords, most of the bronze swords I've seen could pass for steel -- just by looking at them on a picture (I know if I held them in my hand I could tell apart). I have not sword enthusiast friends and don't have the money pay for an actual sword, so I don't what the color of the sword metal actually is.

Here's what I've found mostly from pictures-- Neil Burridge website (as he states he works specifically 12% Tin/Copper Bronze
I've looked about EVERYWHERE for bronze swords for sale (so I could use their pictures as sample images) and here's mostly what I've found.



Here are the few bronze (red-goldish looking swords I've seen)




So, my question what do freshly smithed Bronze actually look like "Silvery" like the pictures above or more Golden like below?
The swords made from Neil Burridge (and not the swords swords he said he was selling on the website) were about the only golden looking swords I've seen... everywhere else I've seen more silvery looking swords.

--If you feel like it... post pictures of your own... or show me some links.
Your answer or help is much appreciated

[David McElrea]

I have a few bronze pieces, including some items from Neil. They are very clearly bronze in real life, bu tend to look silvery in photos. In real life you would want to go with a golden type hue.

However, I can't help but note that these swords would be anachronistic in a medieval setting-- some of them would be from ca. two thousand years before the advent of the medieval castle. If you're wanting to teach people about the middle ages, you'll want a smith's shop that produces items and weapons in iron and steel...

[Gregory J. Liebau]

It depends on the level of finish applied to a sword, and the alloy of the metal used to craft it. As long as the swords above were cast with historically accurate contents of copper and any other metals involved in the alloy and then finished and polished with accurate technology and tools, then real, historical bronze swords probably looked like those examples, at least a number of times.

Depending on the year and the location, as well as upon numerous social and cultural factors (e.g. the quality of copper used, known smelting techniques, personal experience and style), it's reasonable to suggest that during the bronze age almost every man who made swords would have done so with slight variance from one another, and that even among their own products many swords would exhibit unique features.

This would be true of its material, constructive and aesthetic qualities.

-Gregory

[Dan Howard]

You can't judge colour by a photo; you need to see the actual item. As soon as you take a photo, the colour is corrupted by the lighting, camera settings, and jpeg compression. When these are viewed on a computer screen, the colour is further corrupted by the monitor specs and the settings on the video card.

[William M]

Bronze will naturally darken up to a point due to oxidation with the air. I think that there is a massive amount of colour that can be introduced by the amount of reflection from the sky on the sword.

[C. Garzon]

[Dan Howard]

[Josh Maxwell]

"Savages" and "primitive" are strong words to be slinging around.

[C. Garzon]

[William P]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWjtRFNSl2s

Celtic hillforts are not as 'sophisticated' as medieval castles but they were definitely very sturdy. and they are VERY ancient

[Harry Marinakis]

[Mikko Kuusirati]

[Mikko Kuusirati]

Note that the Neil Burridge swords in the first post are shot under the open sky - they're reflecting half a world's worth of pure radiant blue, masking the metal's own color. Most studio shoots will have a similar issue due to the bright lights used in product photography.

(Also note how in the top photo you can actually see the photographer's mirror image along the blade's lower edge, and how crisp it is apart from the distortion produced by the blade's shape. Shiny metal is a right bitch to photograph. )

[Peter Anderson]

All colour is relative. Looking at white objects on a white background is a great way to understand this. There are also various optical illusions regarding colour that illustrate this pretty well.

As I recall, I found at some point an article in a Modern Language Review (from the 50s, mind you) on how colour words in Anglo-Saxon Old English referred to brightness and lighting as much as or generally more than the actual hue.
Ah... right here: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3718566...2206108351

Of course this is a little off topic. But the important part is that it is very hard to identify a "true" bronze colour because it will always change in regard to its surroundings. Matching colour from screen to object is simply trying to match the photo's lighting to the current lighting (of your computer screen itself, in this case).

So this is of course relevant in that, while trying to simulate a bronze sword, it might benefit you to find a colour that looks like the idea of bronze. Sometimes one has to leave realism for reality, and make one's art a little less literal. And on the other hand, if you want to make something which is thoroughly accurate, then you'll have to figure out what bronze would look like in those conditions (hung on a wall, inside, with only torch, candle, or forge for interior lighting).

Short version: there isn't a single "actual" bronze colour. Fake it, or find the relative colour for your situation!

[Mikko Kuusirati]

One thing to keep in mind is that Bronze Age mirrors were also made of polished bronze... and what color is a mirror?

[Peter Anderson]