Lady Liberty’s Favorite Look? Bronze.
Thanks to the meshing of old and new metalcasting techniques, a bronze casting of the plaster model Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi used to create the Statue of Liberty is now up for sale—at least to those who have money to burn, according to the New York Times.
One bronze replica of the model costs $1.1 million, and so far, two of the 12 bronzes have found homes with private collectors.
The plaster model was too fragile to be coated in silicone to make a mold. So a French company, 7Dworks, scanned the model and made a digital reproduction. This was sent to Fonderie Susse, Arcueil, France, which is using the investment casting process to make the finished bronze sculptures.
Each bronze replica is 9.4 ft. tall and weighs 1,000 lbs. It takes 600 hours to create just one.
Check out more details and photo galleries at the New York Times’ website.