Both Beautiful and Hearty
Over the centuries, bronze has become known as an incredibly hearty metal that has been used for everything from weapons to statues to tools, of course, bronze memorials, since at least 2000 B.C. The large family of bronze memorials is led by bronze memorial headstones, which are becoming very popular in cemeteries across America and the world. Bronze headstones owe their popularity as bronze memorials to the sturdiness of bronze as a headstone material. Bronze headstones have gained extensive popularity in recent years because of their ability to withstand the elements, a must for any memorial tribute. Their long lasting construction make bronze headstones perfect for bronze memorials that will keep memories of loved-ones alive for generations to come.
However, bronze headstones are only a small part of a wide variety of bronze memorial products available. From headstones to urns to memorial statues, bronze memorials can satisfy almost any memorial need a family may have.
But, besides headstones, bronze memorials come in a number of other important forms, such as bronze urns. Bronze urns for cremation ashes are carefully crafted to be elegant bronze memorials. Much more than simple storage containers for cremation ashes, bronze urns come in two distinct styles. Cast bronze urns are beautifully crafted pottery shapes that can take the look of traditional urns that have been used as bronze memorials for centuries. Sculpted bronze urns, on the other hand, take the form of elegant, mini-statues. These bronze memorials are shaped to symbolize any number of scenes or shapes. Made according to the exacting, technical standards of any bronze sculpture, bronze urns make for special bronze memorials that will preserve a person’s memory, beautifully, for generations to come. Bronze urns are usually elegant enough to be displayed indoors, but also sturdy enough to be shared with the world outdoors as beautiful bronze memorials. This flexibility makes bronze urns, perhaps, the perfect choice for bronze memorials.
Bronze memorials are often also found in the form of bronze statues. For almost as long as man has known about bronze, bronze statues of all types have adorned private homes, gardens, public places and, of course, graves. Artists who build bronze statues today typically apply many of the same techniques that have been handed down for centuries.
Bronze memorials of all types owe their popularity to bronze’s long history as a sturdy, but shape-able material. About 3,000 BC the people of Mesopotamia discovered that, if they added a small amount of tin ore to the copper ore during smelting, the resulting metal was harder and, thus, more useful than either tin or copper alone. This new metal was bronze, and it proved perfect for a wide variety of bronze memorials. Besides being stronger, bronze was also more fluid and easier to cast – perfect for statues, urns, and any number of other bronze memorials.
The first examples of bronze memorials have been found in the tombs of Sumerian kings who ruled in the lower Mesopotamian Valley. Bronze eventually caught on world-wide and bronze memorials were wide-spread in nearly all cultures by about 1,000 B.C.