Metal Bar and Brackets

This section of the sculpture has a metal bar enclosed within four steel brackets. The corrosion of this bar is different from the other metal on the sculpture. The texture is pitted and rough. This certainly suggests that it is somewhat older than the other metal, and would have lay in the scrap yard, exposed to the elements for longer. It may also indicate that this bar is a rare example of wrought iron in the piece.

By the time César was working, wrought iron was much more expensive to produce than steel. It was therefore only rarely used. The bar is wrapped round by four square brackets – almost like fingers, clutching it. These brackets were made from steel, and were widely used to create rigid structures for industry and manufacture.