2020 Essays

Fat, Lean, Sweet, Sour: Sand of Ox Bone and Rock Salt

Wang, Yijun; Smith, Pamela H.

One of many recipes in BnF Ms. Fr. 640 devoted to making sand molds for metal casting, “Sand of burnt ox bones and rock salt” on fol. 89r contains only two components: “burnt ox bone” and rock salt. Most sand mold recipes contain a dry and a wet component, but this one specifies two dry components. This essay discusses sands and binders, solves the puzzle of how two dry molding components create a successful bond in the sand, and concludes by discussing the experiential and conceptual categories of fat and lean in the author-practitioner’s material imaginary.