Heritage
THECRAFT
From the first bronze bowls to the faucet on your counter.
The material
AN ALLOY OLDER THAN WRITING
Copper was the first metal humans learned to work.
Bronze, copper with tin, gave the ancient world its tools. Brass, copper with zinc, brought a warmer gold that makers chose for vessels and, later, the fittings of the home. The same alloys, poured and hammered by hand, are what BRONZIA casts today.
- CopperWorked since around 5000 BC
- BronzeCopper and tin, from about 3300 BC
- BrassCopper and zinc, widespread from Roman times
Timeline
HOW THE CRAFT TRAVELLED
The Bronze Age
The first bronze vessels and tools, cast with the lost-wax method still used today.
Roman brass
Brass at scale for coins, armor and the first water fittings in bathhouses.
The Islamic golden age
Damascus, Cairo and Fez perfect hammered and engraved brasswork.
Brass in the home
European foundries supply taps and fittings to the first modern bathrooms.
BRONZIA
The same solid castings and hand engraving, made for American homes.
Techniques
FOUR HANDS, FOUR SKILLS
Casting
Molten metal poured into a mold, the oldest way to shape brass.
Hammering
Sheets raised by hand, leaving the soft facets on our sinks.
Engraving
Patterns cut with steel points, one line at a time.
Polishing
Hours of cloth work that reveal the depth of the alloy.
In pictures
THE CRAFT TODAY
The bench
The collectionEngraving
Patina
Hammered sink
BathroomThree alloys
KNOW YOUR METAL
Brass
Copper and zinc. Warm gold, the classic choice for faucets.
Copper
Pure and soft. Red-orange, loved for hammered sinks.
Bronze
Copper and tin. Deeper and harder, the color our patina reaches.
An old idea
“A brass tap is not finished when it leaves the workshop. It is finished by the hands that use it.”
Workshop saying
Then and now
WHAT CHANGED, AND WHAT DID NOT
The tools are better. The hands are the same.
A modern BRONZIA faucet has a ceramic cartridge, lead-free alloy and US connections. But the body is still a solid casting, the engraving is still cut by hand, and the polish is still hours of patience.
- Lost-wax and sand casting, unchanged in principle
- Hand engraving with steel chisels
- Modern ceramic cartridges and lead-free brass
- Living, unlacquered finish
The craft in numbers
MEASURED IN CENTURIES
Own a piece of it
BRASS FOR EVERY ROOM
Kitchen, bathroom, shower systems, showerheads and sinks, made the old way.
Shop the collection