While yet hot from the mould, they were rubbed with some kind of resinous varnish which filled up the pores and deposited an unalterable patina upon the surface.

Each kind of bronze had its special use.

The ordinary bronze was employed for weapons and common amulets; the brazen alloys served for household utensils; the bronzes mixed with gold and silver were destined only for mirrors, costly weapons, and statuettes of value.

In none of the tomb-paintings which I have seen is there any representation of bronze-founding or bronze-working; but this omission is easily supplemented by the objects themselves.

Tools, arms, rings, and cheap vases were sometimes forged, and sometimes cast whole in moulds of hard clay or stone.