From Anvil to Microscope: Modern metallography and the ancient secrets of metalcraft

April 17 to mid-October 2008

Metallurgy has been among the most influential human technologies for over five thousand years. Preindustrial metalsmiths knew nothing about the material science that governs the properties of metals, yet their traditional techniques, handed down from generation to generation, allowed them to manipulate these properties to produce superior steels, even though they had no scientific understanding of what they were actually doing.

Renaissance metalworking, in a Flemish painting of the early 1600s (HAM 6166)

Today, many of these traditional techniques have been lost, so to rediscover how early smiths worked, we must study all the clues they have left behind, such as early books that mention metalworking, or visual depictions of craftsmen at work. But the most important clues lie in actual surviving artifacts. Every metal object from ancient time bears the traces of how it was manufactured, if only we know how to see them. Modern science has given us powerful tools to unlock the technological secrets of the past, giving us a much deeper understanding of how our ancestors forged the tools that build human civilizations across the centuries.

This exhibit uses the resources of modern metallography—such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron diffusion analysis—to reveal the stories behind a selection of artifacts from the Higgins Armory collection, ranging from a Chinese bronze blade of 1000 B.C.E. to a modern decorative sword, tracing the evolution of metals technology across the millennia, and showing how modern science can help us better understand the past. The displays introduce the visitor to the science and technology behind early metal smelting, bronze and iron working, and steel carburization and heat-treatment, as practiced by societies around the globe.

In addition to the objects and standing displays, the exhibit uses current audiovisual technologies to help the modern visitor understand the core science and technology behind the artifacts on display. Animations generated by museum staff explain how oxidized ore is converted to usable iron; video footage of traditional metalworking practices offers a glimpse of the technologies in action; and interactive stations allow the visitor to get a hands-on feel for the metals and how they were worked. These audiovisual and interactive components will also serve as a launching-point for the museum to develop new ways of engaging visitors in the future.