Permian bronze casts

Small cast-bronze objects from Russia’s Perm region, often depicting animals or mythological figures. Their distinctive imagery is associated with the Permian animal style.

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Permian animal style: An artistic tradition of the Perm region, known for cast-bronze images of animals, humans, and supernatural beings. This style names the visual tradition most closely associated with the casts.
Lost-wax casting: A casting method that uses a wax model, replaced by molten metal in a heat-resistant mold. This method can create the detailed, sculptural forms found on many casts.
Iron Age: A broad archaeological period characterized by the widespread use of iron tools and weapons. Many Permian casts belong to regional archaeological contexts of the Iron Age.
Permian animal style plaques: Small cast-metal plaques bearing animal or human figures in the Permian animal style. Plaques are a recognizable form within the wider corpus of bronze casts.
Perm region: A region in western Russia centered on the Kama River and the city of Perm. The region gives these objects their modern name and geographic setting.
Bronze: An alloy consisting chiefly of copper, commonly combined with tin or other metals. Bronze was the material shaped into these small images.
Ananyino culture: An archaeological culture of the middle Volga and Kama regions, dating broadly from the eighth to third centuries BCE. Earlier regional metalworking traditions provide context for later cast-bronze imagery.
Permian animal style pendants: Suspended ornaments cast with imagery associated with the Permian animal style. Pendants show how these images could be worn as personal objects.
Kama culture: An archaeological culture of the middle Kama River basin during the first millennium CE. Its communities are among those connected with the production and use of the casts.
Animal style: A broad term for artistic traditions that emphasize animal figures and interlocking animal forms. The casts belong to a regional tradition within this wider artistic phenomenon.