The ring-oven is a simple but elegant device which elutes soluble materials from a spot of test solution on filter paper and concentrates them in a sharply bounded circular ring zone where they can be detected. The method was applied to the qualitative analysis of a number of metal statues, mostly early Egytian, in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Samples were taken merely by rubbing a roughened glass slide across the surface of the specimen so as to obtain a streak of the metal. All specimens examined were found to be bronzes. The only specimen of a later date was shown to have a higher lead content, using a semi-quantitative application of the ringoven technique. -- AATA