Annotations Assignment - Cost - 076v and 029r

Day by Day Entries

NAME: Jef Palframan
DATE AND TIME: 14 Nov 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - Purchasing Materials.

• Procured the following materials:
  • 1 bag of rye dough - Brooklyn Fare;
  • Alum (Aluminium Sulfate) - Barry Farms (Amazon);
  • 2 Aloe Vera plants - Home Depot;
  • Tragacanth Gum - Already possessed;
  • Oranges - Eataly;
    • 3 Species*: Valencia, Navel, and Tangerine.
      • *Note: It was not possible to secure oranges from France or Spain. The Valencia is a hybridized version of an orange grown in Spain. There are many different variations on the Valencia orange. It is unknown which category these fall into. See this page for more information.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 180923 Nov 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color.

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Measuring spoon: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Mortar and Pestle: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Glass flasks: Our 3 flasks are of various sizes, due to a shortage of supplies. The largest was used for the Valencia and the smallest was used for the tangerine.
  • Small cutting knife: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Marble cutting board: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Materials:
  • Oranges: 2 X Valencia, 2 X Navel, and 2 X Tangerine. See note in 14 Nov 14 entry below.
  • Sulphur: Powered form. No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • See our Annotations Plans for an outline of the annotations experiments.
  • The zest of the tangerine oranges were removed and placed in a marble mortar and pestle, that was very throughly cleaned and dried. Two teaspoons of the zest were ground in the mortar.
  • The grinding was difficult and the peels had to be cut with scissors in the mortar to further the process along (*For all the oranges the excess peels were set aside to dry if required for later experiments).
  • The peels were ground for 15 mins until they appeared pulverized. It was noted that it might be wise to dry the peels out before grinding them, however since the recipe did not specifically call for this we did not do so.
  • As required by the recipe, and equal amount of sulphur (2 tsp) was added to the mortar and the were ground together for 5 mins.
  • We placed the results in the smallest flask after passing them through a funnel and labeled the flask 'tangerine'.
  • The mortar and other tools were cleaned and the process was repeated for the Valencia and the Navel oranges.
  • The recipe states that the ground peels and sulphur should be stored in "a cellar or... a wet place". We placed the three vials in a clean mixing bowl and filled it with two inches of water. Paper towels were place around the vials in order to stabilize them. The mixing bowl was sealed with plastic and masking tape and placed in the fridge. The temperature in the fridge was measured at 57°.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 250900 Nov 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux).

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Putty Knife: The putty knife is machined and made out of stainless steel. No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Mixing Bowls: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Marble Slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Horse Hair Paint Brush: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Stainless Steel Sifter: Not an early modern tool and was given up for the more authentic cheese cloth.
  • Cheese Cloth: More authentic than the stainless steel sifter.
• Materials:
  • Rye Flour: Store bought from Red Mills.
  • Tragacanth Gum: In powdered form. No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Linseed Oil: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Wooden Board: Flat and sanded pine. No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • The mixture and construction of the stucco models were greatly aided by experiments at the beginning of the semester. Much of the process was streamlined because of what we already knew. Our ability to do this illustrates how tacit knowledge is lost even to the practitioner in the development of skills. Some clarifications that were important before are almost lost because muscle memory or reflex just takeover.
  • As was done in the last experiment approximately 3 cups of rye flour were sifted through the stainless steel strainer. In our last experiment, the rye was very coarse, and we decided to sift the flour again through two layers of cheese cloth.
  • Tragacanth Gum was slowly added to 250 ml of water, while stirring, until it formed a jelly. Approximately, 40 ml of tragacanth gum was mixed with the water.
  • The jelly was placed on the marble slab and mixed with approximately 2 cups of the sifted flour. Again, it was observed that the tragacanth gum had a mind of it own and required a lot of effort to control.
  • Once the mixture was consistent, a small amount of linseed oil was brushed in.
  • The mixture was placed on a wooden slab and molded into three different models. Linseed oil was applied with a brush as a separator as necessary.
  • The final mixture was used to create 2 flower models and a pyramid. The flower models were chosen to imitate possible Italian floor models and the pyramid was constructed to test the structural integrity of the material.
  • Most of the procedure was rushed due to time constraints.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 241200 Nov 14
LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY - Apartment on 20th floor
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux).

• Wrote to Yevonne Velet at Vassar for more information on 'white glue'. There are two other references to 'white glue' in the manuscript: 029v - Gold base and 042v - White varnish on plaster.
• Found examples for molding from various sources.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 251200 Nov 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux).

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Horse Hair Paint Brush: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Sand Paper: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Laser thermometer: Used to measure temperatures of rabbit skin glue mixture.
• Materials:
  • Rabbit Skin Glue: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Plaster of Paris: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Powdered Marble: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Completed Stucco Models from prior day.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • This part of the experiment was not part of the original recipe of 076v or 029r. 029r only mentions that white glue "colle de paste" can be applied to the model so that they can be painted. We understood this to mean that this meant that a gesso was applied to the surface of the models so that they can be painted. Using an adapted modern "traditional" gesso recipe we applied several layers of an outer coating to make the model paintable.
  • Before starting, it was noted that the model was in excellent shape and had hardened nicely overnight. It responded well to sanding and cutting with an carving knife. It was also very strong. The pyramid structure was still wet on the inside and bulged when pushed.
  • We first mixed the rabbit skin glue (RSG) powder with water and heated it. 11 ml of RSG was mixed with 250 ml of water and was heated to 120° fahrenheit.
  • We applied three layers of RSG size to the exterior of the model. The model was left to dry for ten minutes in between each application.
  • A gesso mixture of plaster of paris, powdered marble, and RSG was made. The first mixture attempted was in a 1:1:5 (plaster of paris : powdered marble : RSG) ratio but was found to be too viscous so it was changed to 1:1:3, which worked well. Three layers were applied and left to dry for a week.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 010900 Dec 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux).

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Marble slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Painting knife: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Horse Hair Paint Brush: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Sand Paper: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Laser thermometer: Used to measure temperatures of rabbit skin glue mixture.
  • Modified tin can: Used to heat the mixtures.
  • Electric burner: Used to heat the mixtures.
• Materials:
  • Turpentine: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Linseed oil: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Water: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Mixtures of sulphur, tangerines, navel, and Valencia oranges.
  • Marble slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • The sulphur and orange mixtures were removed form their storage. The purpose of storing the mixture in ‘a cellar or in a wet place’ is still unknown. After removing the mixture from the cold environment, it was noted that it had absorbed some of the moisture. The powder was moist to the touch and compacted easier than before, but no visual coloration changes were observed.
  • One of the mixtures was heated in an attempt to melt the sulfur. Unfortunately, this mixture ignited and burned off. We thought that we were adding the heat too fast so we added a buffer plate in between the tin can and the burner.
  • We then slowly added heat over ten minutes with a target temperature just over the melting point of sulfur, which is 115.2°C. The organic matter browned and the mixture became blackened even before we reached 110°C.
  • The mixture was then heated with the target temperature being 100°C, and again browning was observed although not to the point where the mixture lost all of its yellowish appearance.
  • It was then that the heating trials were stopped and the results were ground on a marble slab. Various bases for pigments (i.e. turpentine from Venice, linseed oil, and a one to one mixture of turpentine and linseed oil) were added to the heated results and some of the unheated mixtures. The resulting ‘pigments’ were strained through linen cloth and applied to stucco models.
  • The results were less than appealing. The mixtures did not behave like normal pigments. The organic matter in the mixture had bonded together into large particles that spotted the pigment. The pigments, especially those that had been heated, resembled brownish mustard rather than a beautiful gold color.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 051200 Dec 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux).

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Marble slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Painting knife: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Materials:
  • Aloe Plants: Small in size, but no anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • Broke open aloe plants to remove the jelly inside to prepare for alternative recipe. Left the jelly from two aloe vera plants to dry on the marble slab.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 081200 Dec 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux) - Harvesting the Aloe Epat.; applying alternative gold coloring recipe;

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Marble slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Painting knife: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Heating element: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Stainless steel pot: This item will have an effect on authenticity. The alternative recipe in STC 3355, states that a leaded pot is needed. Unfortunately, obtaining one was cost prohibitive.
• Materials:
  • Dried innards of Aloe Plants: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Alum: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Linseed oil: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • 
    
  • Sulfur: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on Procedure:
  • Returned the next day to harvest the dried aloe epat. from the marble slab. Used a painting knife to scrap it into a small pile. For the amount of jelly harvested from the plants, very little dried aloe epaticium was obtained, only approximately ½-1 millimeters.
  • Nonetheless, the epaticum was mixed with linseed and alum and heated in a stainless steel pot to ~320°-325°C, in order to make the alum melt and boil. The alum formed some hard crystalline structures in the pot and did not appear to mix with the linseed oil.
  • The results were removed from the pot and placed in linen cloth and strained for its moisture.
  • The resulting pigment was applied to the 'tudor rose' model. The resulting color on the model was unappealing, but had a dark brown quality slightly resembling a very dark gold. More epaticum may have helped with yellowing the color.

NAME: Jef Palframan and Emily Boyd
DATE AND TIME: 081400-091400 Dec 14
LOCATION: Columbia University, Chandler Hall Rm. 260 - Manhattan, NY
SUBJECT: Annotations - 076v - Making cheap and very beautiful gold color; and 029r Stucco for Moldings (Redux) - Attempting 076v again.

• Conditions:
  • Lab conditions, approx. 72°, no air movement, average humidity.
• Equipment:
  • Marble slab: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Painting knife: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Mortar and Pestle: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Paint brush: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Materials:
  • Dried Valencia Orange Peel Zest: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Sulfur: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
  • Linseed oil: No anticipated effect on authenticity.
• Discussion on procedure:
  • Decided to retry the 076v recipe without heating, but leaving it in the fridge overnight.
  • To minimize the amount of particulate in the pigment, we decided to grind the orange peels to an extremely fine powder. The recipe calls for the zest to be "pulverized," so we decided to take this word to the extreme and grind it for an exorbitant amount of time, approx. 30 mins.
  • The mixture was mixed with sulfur as before and left in the fridge overnight.
  • The next day it was removed and mixed with linseed oil and applied directly, without straining to the model.
  • The color was brighter and more vibrant. There were still particulate visible, but it was less pronounced than the previous trials. The color really resembled gold from a distance.