A Preliminary Study of the Casting Process for Bronze Drums of the Kemu Nationality in Laos

采用文献法和实地调查法对老挝克木鼓进行了调查,共搜集到64面克木鼓的资料,对这些铜鼓实物进行了铸造技术的分析,并实地调查了失蜡法铸造铜鼓的工艺。认为克木鼓属黑格尔Ⅲ型鼓,其铸造工艺为失蜡法。鼓面立体蛙饰、鼓耳和鼓面中心的光体先制成蜡模,然后粘贴到铜鼓蜡模上,再与铜鼓一起浇注而成,浇注口可能设在鼓足处。其他纹饰则采用了印痕法和滚压法,雕刻法只用于修补鼓上模糊的纹饰。制造纹饰精美、鼓壁薄且较均匀的铜鼓,铸造者在造型设计、合金配比和金属熔炼等方面都需要有丰富的经验。This article is an investigation of the bronze drums of the Kemu Nationality in Laos, using both documentary evidence and fieldwork. 64 bronze drums from museums in Laos were studied, including their casting technology, in particular the use of the lost wax method. The fluctuation range of the ratio of drum height to drumhead diameter was found to be small, mostly between 0. 7--0. 8, indicating that the drum design had been finalized. Among them none were of exactly the same size or had the same ornamentation, indicating that the casting process involved one drum one mold. The drums were made by the lost wax casting method. During the casting process, wax-made solid frogs, drum ears and stars were first formed into wax patterns and stuck on to the wax-made drums. Molten bronze was then poured into the molds through the pouring mouths, which possibly lay at the feet of the molds. Some other decorative patterns were usually made by the processes of mold stamping and pattern rolling, while blurred decorative patterns were often touched-up by carving. In general, the making of such drums, with their fine and beautiful decorative patterns and thin and even walls, required consummate skills and a wealth of experience. In addition, it was found that the design of the shape of Hegel III-Type bronze drums in Laos and neighboring areas was stable, and that the evolving principles of the decorative patterns in these areas were the same. This is further evidence that there may have been special workshops for producing this type of bronze drum, and also of smelting and casting technical interchanges or casting mold dissemination through the region.国家社科基金(项目编号:09CMZ012);广西哲社“十一五”规划项目(项目编号:08FKG001);广西民族大学民族艺术硕士点建设经费资助项