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How does embossing create decoration on a sheet of metal?

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Plaque showing a warrior and attendants — metalwork Warrior and attendants plaque, brass relief sculpture by Edo artists in the court of the kingdom of Benin (now Nigeria), 16th–17th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

In the context of metalwork, embossing—also known as repoussé—is the art of creating raised relief patterns by working the metal from the reverse side.12

The process typically involves these steps:
* Outlining: The design is drawn on the metal surface, and motifs are outlined with a tracer tool to transfer the pattern to the back of the plate.1
* Hammering: The plate is embedded face down in an asphalt block, and the areas to be raised are hammered into the yielding material.1
* Refining: The plate is flipped, and the background is hammered into the asphalt to further define the relief.1
* Finishing: The process often concludes with chasing, where the metal is worked from the front to refine the forms and details without removing material.12

Alternatively, relief can be produced mechanically by pressing thin, pliable metal sheets into molds, between dies, or over stamps. Specialized tools like a snarling iron may be used to reach inaccessible areas during the process.1