Can you bronze a corpse?

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Can I bronze a dead body? Do I need to do anything to it first? It would be going on display, so I need to know if it's going to decay or stink. I've seen this done in another book, but technically, those bodies were "vampires" so I think that may have been fudged.

Anybody know?

Stewart · Jan 23, 2011

To make a bronze replica of anything, I"m pretty sure you'd make a wax replica first (a molding or sculpting), then use that to make a bronze casting.

Cyia · Jan 23, 2011

I don't think she means a replica. She means like someone bronzing baby shoes. The stink would only happen if air can get to the corpse; bronzing would, in theory, be airtight. Your problem comes with the temperatures required.

You need to find out the melting point of bronze vs. the ignition point of human flesh.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Hmm. Actually, It isn't truly human. It's more of a fish. A mermaid to be exact, but really an entirely different species. I would say definitely cold-blooded.

I'm going to go waddle off to google the bronzing process. This is near the end of the book, but it is essential. If nothing else, we'll use concrete or something.

Kathie Freeman · Jan 23, 2011

Bronzing of baby shoes (or anything else) dosn't involve actual molten bronze, it is a thick paint-like coating. Theoretically you could use it on an embalmed corpse, but it would work better if it were mummified instead.

Shakesbear · Jan 23, 2011

There is a Dorothy L Sayers short story in which a corpse is coppered ... "The Abominable History of the Man with the Copper Fingers" Will that help? I think the murderer uses electrolysis. You can find the story in the anthology called Lord Peter Views the Body.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Can you embalm a corpse at home? Like is it a DIY project?

Hmmm.

Thump · Jan 23, 2011

Kind of makes me think of that episode of Bones "the babe in the bar" where they find a corpse in a giant chocolate bar... It wasn't pretty...

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Electroplating? That's what they do with the baby shoes. I think that may be what I do.

scarletpeaches · Jan 23, 2011

What if you paint the corpse first to keep it airtight, then when it's dry, you bronze it properly, so the bronzing process doesn't touch flesh, only bronze paint?

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Chocolate sounds delicious....

SP, do you think that would work? I'd be worried the paint might flake.

GAR. I can find all sorts of info on HOW to electroplate things, but nothing on bodies. And I am a bit unsure if it would stay stable long-term. I need it to retain it's shape. I think the metal would be strong enough, and without air, the decay rate would be minimal.

I'm also trying to figure out how to get the body posed in just the right position without bronzing attachments. For plating you put it in a giant vat of fluid and shock it. Anything attached to the body will stay that way. I suppose some parts could be sanded off.

Still musing...

Karen Junker · Jan 23, 2011

When in doubt, use magic.

scarletpeaches · Jan 23, 2011

Trust you to come along with a sensible answer.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

Unfortunately, this book has very little magic in it. I am thinking they can just drain the blood out, remove most of the internal organs, stuff it with wool, stitch it up, and use clay, joint compound (drywall), and fake stone composite to create a sculpture on top of the body. It would be porous, so the gases could escape, but it would also be relatively moisture-tight. Decomposition would be very slow. The final result would look like stone.

Karen brought up a scary prospect via e-mail. If I bronze her, the gases might make it explode like an old pop can.

Not a pretty sight since I am "hiding" it in the window of a pastry shop.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

HAH.

Got it. Mummification+Plaster gauze+clay= sculpture.

Done.

PinkAmy · Jan 23, 2011

amyashley said:
Can I bronze a dead body? Do I need to do anything to it first? It would be going on display, so I need to know if it's going to decay or stink. I've seen this done in another book, but technically, those bodies were "vampires" so I think that may have been fudged.

Anybody know?

That's the most disgusting question I've even seen on AW

.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

LOL...

I TOLD you the other day I needed to know where the spot was for all the really crazy people!

Just be glad I don't have an actual, real, dead corpse in my living room I am trying to hide.

lbender · Jan 23, 2011

Sorry in advance for anyone who's disgusted, but what's wrong with just skinning the individual involved, stuffing the skin appropriately, and sealing with varnish, bronze paint, or whatever. Taxidermists do it all the time, although not necessarily with people. Postures are adjusted with support wiring, etc., in the stuffing.

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

That would be okay, but then they would still be left with a body to hide. A BODY WITH NO SKIN. I think that would be worse.

lbender · Jan 23, 2011

Sorry, your original post didn't mention needing to hide the body. I suppose another option would be to use a bunch of those flesh eating beetles (like on Bones, etc.) and then use the remaining bones as the framework for your statue.

Haggis · Jan 23, 2011

I'm not sure what the best approach is, but if you do figure it out, can I have one too?

amyashley · Jan 23, 2011

EW BEETLES!!!! Jeepers.

Haggis, absolutely. Just pay for shipping. That baby's gonna be heavy.

MaryMumsy · Jan 23, 2011

PinkAmy said:
That's the most disgusting question I've even seen on AW .

Nah, there have been plenty of others just as gross.

MM

lbender · Jan 23, 2011

amyashley said:
EW BEETLES!!!! Jeepers.

I'm surprised. You're discussing DIY embalming, playing around with corpses and rotting flesh, but you're disgusted with a few innocent insects? What's the world coming to?

Maryn · Jan 23, 2011

Okay, I can't be the only person to have thought about this for a while before answering.

A corpse, embalmed or not, is going to putrefy. The bacteria which enable this process are already in the body, while living (and are in you and me as we speak). While you may be able to seal the body with bronze, copper, or dark chocolate, it's still going to slowly rot inside that shell, and ultimately be more liquid than solid material. This is why some states require a burial vault or grave liner, to keep the liquid from entering the ground and possibly contaminating the ground water or causing odor problems when the ground is saturated.

Your bronze coating will have to be quite thick to withstand the shift in the corpse's weight from even distribution to lowest-point as it liquefies inside the shell. I'm not sure electroplating is up to the task.

Maryn, who really should be writing horror

Can you bronze a corpse?

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