What is a wax figure?

Wax figure is a kind of surrealist sculpture art, which is called "stereoscopic photography". Wax figure art is closer to the original form of characters than ordinary sculpture, and the characters it creates are often vivid, with strong ornamental value and unique function of restoring historical figures. Wax art was introduced into China from abroad in 1980s.

The wax figure has gone through a long historical process from a single wax figure to the wax figure art of today's era. According to historical records, as early as the Babylonian period in Cuba, people mastered the wax figure technology. In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, had a wax figure made for him. In ancient Egypt, wax figures were placed in graves at funerals.

In ancient Greece, wax figures were often displayed in religious ceremonies. At the mask festival in ancient Rome, aristocratic families also showed masks made of wax by their ancestors or attended funerals.

In the Middle Ages, wax figures were used in witchcraft in Europe, and there were already wax figures made for believers in churches. Wax masks were used to commemorate emperors and great men, such as the icon in the church of Anuasta in Florence, Italy, and became the embodiment of the late emperor and great men.

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The invention of wax figures

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, there were related records of candles in Egypt and Greece three thousand years ago, and ancient candles were all made of animal fat. 1800 years later, paraffin extracted from petroleum began to appear.

However, it is said that oil lamps were still used in the age of nineteen ancient poems. Suddenly, it seems that there is no such thing as candles in ancient China. In ancient books of Han Dynasty, wax and candle were generally discussed separately, but the word candle was rarely used together.

Wax sculpture production has to go through three procedures: carving, covering and demoulding. The sculpture model can be made of clay sculpture, and the carving technique is not simple, which requires artistic accomplishment. Novices should choose a simpler model and study patiently.

The clay model is a three-dimensional model, and the hollow model must be poured with gypsum to make a wax figure. If you have no modeling experience, you can also go to a company that specializes in designing models for customization. For example, if you build a mold in the head, you should also build a mold in the body, and then recreate a mold in the hands and feet. When these molds are connected, a mold in a certain part is formed.

Candles existed in China at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but they were not widely used and their shapes were different from those of modern times. Furthermore, whether candles were used in the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties is an unsolved mystery. Candles mentioned in the literature were first mentioned in the Jin Dynasty. "The Book of Jin Zhou Zhuan" wrote that someone "cast his candle". Shi Shuo Xin Yu tells the story of Shi Chong cooking with candles.

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