The Trend Curve™

The international authority on color and design trends in home furnishings

  • Home
  • TTC Blog
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Consulting
    • About Michelle Lamb
    • The Trend Curve Story
    • The Trend Curve Team
    • Life of a Trend
  • Contact
  • Members (now open)
    • *Member Homepage*
    • Member-Only Posts
    • The Trend Curve for Members
    • Trend Flash™
You are here: Home / Michelle Lamb / The New Bronze Age

The New Bronze Age

January 19, 2015 By Janice Carlson -

Frederick Cooper- Racquel Lamp in Bronze

Frederick Cooper- Racquel Lamp in Bronze

As bronze comes into clear focus for 2016 décor, it’s interesting to take a look at its illustrious past and all that it did to define humankind’s development. Bronze is the much harder metal that’s produced when tin or arsenic is added to copper. It was this durability that led to the use of bronze, not only for making weapons and armor, but also for the creation of building materials that were much longer-lasting than stone and copper. Decorative tiles were among the first items of home décor to be cast in bronze, dating back as far as the 3rd-millennium BC. Talk about a material with staying power!

Historical bronze varied widely in composition, because metalworkers began to add whatever scrap metal was on hand to their copper mixtures. A 12th-century English bronze candlestick base, for instance, contains zinc, lead, nickel and iron, and is believed to have been made from old coins that were too worn to remain in circulation.

Because bronze resists corrosion, it became a favorite for boat and ship fittings. Much later, its low-friction properties made it crucial to building cannons.  And its natural conductivity eventually led to its use in electrical connectors and springs.

John Currie Sculpture

Award-Winning Sculpture by John Currie

Bronze did well in the industrial era, but its artistic uses evolved along with its technological ones. It is, to this day, the preferred metal for making top-quality bells, and its strength and resonant qualities have made it a regular part of stringed instruments. Sculptors return to bronze again and again. The sculpture example shown was cast by John Currie, Editorial Correspondent for The Trend Curve, who is also a painter, award-winning sculptor and graphic designer.

The Trend Curve’s Editorial Director, Michelle Lamb believes that bronze will gain a foothold in home décor in the coming two years. It will be used under finishes that refer to other metals, but will increasingly be recognized in its own right. Watch for it in lighting, tables, decorative accessories and more. Bronze fits not only with the market’s recent (and growing) embrace of warm metals, but also with an incoming color palette for 2016 that’s bullish on browns.

But we know that bronze is much too important a metal to simply be seen. It’s to be heard, felt, and treasured in our day-to-day lives, as it has been for thousands of years. 

Filed Under: Michelle Lamb, Trend   Tagged With: Bronze, Color, Metals and Metallics

Recent Posts

  • From Japandi to Japanese Craft
  • Revenge Travel: Now It’s Impacting Home Furnishings
  • Retail Delight: Kitchen Living Dining Copenhagen
  • Valentine’s Day: Tokens of Affection at Brown Thomas
  • What’s Trending: Japanese + Italian Mashups

Posts by Category

Post Tags

Ambiente Americasmart Animal Skin Asian Style Black and White Ceramic Chelsea Flower Show Christmas Color Copper COVID-19 Design Details & Embellishments DMC Dogs Florals Functionality Geometrics Halloween High Point Furniture Market Key Items Kids Licensing Lighting Maison & Objet Marble Metals and Metallics Mixed Media Paper Pattern Retail Reconnaissance Shape Showtime Spring/Summer Sustainability Tabletop Textiles Texture Thanksgiving Toy Fair Transparency Trendcurveteam Valentine's Day White Wood Trends

Site Menu

  • Home
  • TTC Blog
  • Exclusive Content
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Sign Up for Email Updates

  • Hidden

Connect With Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Contact Us

The Trend Curve™
16 Penumbra
Lake Forest, CA 92630

Phone: 949-662-1515
Fax: 952-893-1264
Contact us here

Copyright © 2023 · The Trend Curve™ · Trend Staff: Log in