How a Roman bust reproduction is made: from the mould to the finished piece

It starts with a model and a mould

Nothing is carved. A reproduction starts from a master model, and from the model comes a mould: liquid silicone poured over it cures into a flexible skin that copies fine detail, backed by a rigid plaster or fibreglass jacket. A head is full of undercuts, curls, ears, a Gorgon's serpents, so the mould opens in parts. Moulds wear out after a number of casts: when one model looks crisp in one shop and soft in another, the cause is often an older mould.

Casting, demoulding, deflashing, finishing

Casting resin comes in two parts and, once mixed, gives minutes of working time. It can fill the mould or be laid in as a shell, so the piece comes out hollow and lighter. Some pieces add marble dust or, in cold casting, metal powder. Bubbles are drawn out under vacuum or in a pressure pot before the resin sets.

In Italian the next two steps have names of their own. Sformatura: the mould opens and the piece comes out. Sbavatura: the flash, a thin fin of resin along the joins of the mould, is cut away and the detail under the seam is re-cut by hand. Colour comes last: a base coat, a darker patina brushed on and wiped back so it stays in the hollows, highlights on the raised planes, a protective wax. Bronze usually goes through lost-wax casting instead, and every step adds cost.

What “bronze effect” means, and why it is not a trick

Bronze effect is a finish, not a material, and our product pages say so: the Julius Caesar bust is resin with a realistic bronze effect, the Medusa bust high-quality resin with a refined bronze-effect finish. Bronze is several times denser than resin: the same bust in bronze would be far heavier, far more expensive and a heavy parcel. Resin gives you the form and the surface, and it travels. It does not ring like metal or turn green like a bronze in a park. It is a reproduction, sold as one.

Hand finish or industrial spray: how to tell

Look into the hollows. A patina laid on by hand is darker in the recesses and thinner on the ridges, because it was applied and wiped back; a sprayed finish tends to hold one tone everywhere. Two hand-finished pieces of the same model are never quite identical.

Then follow the seam along the head and shoulders: on a careful piece it is cut back and recoloured until it disappears, on a rushed one it stands as a ridge under the paint. And keep the words honest: hand-finished is not carved by hand. The form comes from the mould; the hand goes into deflashing, re-cutting and patina.

Busts and statues in our catalogue, with prices

Site prices, at least 5% below Etsy. All six are made in Italy; our statues and busts come from Italfama.

• Julius Caesar bust (€100). Resin, realistic bronze effect, hand-finished; Medusa breastplate and imperial eagle.
• Medusa bust (€130). High-quality resin, refined bronze-effect finish; each serpent individually detailed.
• Leonardo da Vinci bust (€130). Resin, hand-finished bronze effect.
• Memory, abstract face (€120). Resin, bronze-style finish: a face breaking into geometry.
• Emperor Augustus, Prima Porta (€140). High-quality resin, refined bronze-effect coating; a statue, not a bust.
• Michelangelo's David (€155). Resin, premium bronze-style finish; also a statue.

Who the Roman faces were: see our emperors and gods guide.

Keeping one, and seeing one before you buy

A bronze-effect finish needs only a soft dry cloth and, in the recesses, a soft dry brush. No solvents, alcohol, ammonia, spray cleaners or metal polish, which can strip an applied finish; keep the piece out of direct sun and damp. More in our guide to bronze-effect statue care.

The busts are at Via Cavour 280, five minutes on foot from the Colosseum, every day 10:00–20:00: pick one up and find the seam. Online: free pickup in store, free tracked shipping in Italy (2–4 working days), €20 to the EU (3–7), €50 to selected countries outside the EU (6–14), dispatch in 1–2 working days, 14 days to return.