Editors’ Introduction: Putting Work into Metal

A copper ingot found in Cyprus signifies both the beginning and the end of life for many items of metalwork. The ingot (fig. 1) either was made from smelted copper unearthed from the Cypriot copper mines and formed into its shape or represents the afterlife of a broken, dysfunctional vessel or other object, melted down only to be shaped again into an ingot in an endless cycle of material and form. The ingot has the potentiality to mutate into a near-limitless variety of objects, through either simple hammering techniques or more complex ones involving casting. As a resource for artisans, the ingot could also serve as commodity money in an exchange. In its amorphic presence, the humble object thus offers a springboard for pondering all that metalwork is and can be, while elaborating on ideas of its design, making, use, and reception. sum