WOOD AND GOLD: EMILIE AND DAVID

WHAT IS TERRA MERITA?? CONNECTION TO WORLD TRADE IN TOULOUSE.

TIME AND SPEED AND EPHEMERAL ART. DAILY LIFE PRACTICES.

By: Emilie Foyer
Recipe for annotation


<id>p029v_1</id>
<head><m>Color of gold</m> without <m>gold</m> on <m>silver</m></head>

<ab>Color your <m>silver sheet</m> by applying some <m>terra emerita</m> and once dry spread a handful of <m>aspic</m> varnish and <m>sandarac</m> and it will be more beautiful than fine <m>gold</m>.</ab></div>

<id>p056v_1</id>

<ab>
White <m>turpentine</m> varnish or <m>aspic oil</m> and <m>turpentine</m> is colored with powdered <m>turmeric</m> boiled together with it. It gives a <m>gold</m> color on <m>silver</m> which is even more beautiful when burnished. It dries within a quarter of an hour. <m>Aloes</m> would made an even brighter color but it takes time to dry whereas the other one dries within a quarter of an hour in winter as well as in summer.</ab>


ASPIC VARNISH
<page>004r</page>
<image>http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10500001g/f13.image</image>
<div>
<id>p004r_1</id>
<head><m>Aspic oil varnish</m></head>
<ab>One must heat <m>lavender spike oil</m> and, as it begins to simmer, put in powdered <m>sandarac gum</m> so that it soon melts. And stir continuously over a <m>charcoal</m> fire until the <m>sandarac</m> is well melted, which you will know by taking a little of the said varnish on a plate and, if it is fat enough when you handle it with a finger, it is ready. And for one pound of <m>lavender spike oil</m>, you should put five ounces of ground <m>sandarac</m>. Some only put in four ounces but this is not as good, nor as fat. The former dries promptly. To avoid the trouble of polishing their <m>ebony</m>, <pro>framemakers</pro> varnish it with this. So do <pro>guitarmakers</pro>. This [varnish] is not as fitting for paintings as fine <m>turpentine varnish</m>, though it is good for the paintings’ moldings. When <m>linseed varnish</m> was in use, one would not commonly varnish the landscape of a painting because it would turn the landscape yellow. But with <m>turpentine varnish</m> one varnishes everywhere. Instead of <m>sandarac</m>, you can add to it pulverized <m>mastic</m> drop by drop or otherwise, and it will dry more quickly.</ab>
<ab>If you want to varnish <m>plaster</m> or a wall, first put on your <m>glue de retaille</m>, very hot, because if cold it would not penetrate the wall at all. And when you would have put your varnish on, it would come off.</ab>

<note>
<margin>left-top</margin>
<m>Aspic oil varnish</m> is not as apt for colors as that of <m>turpentine</m>, because <m>aspic oil</m> eats the colors, since it is too penetrating.</note>
</div>

<title id="p003r_a2">Varnish for paintings</title> (Turpentine)

<ab id="p003r_b2">Take a pound of Venice turpentine and heat it in a pot until it simmers, put in half a pound of the whitest turpentine oil you can find and stir all together well on a charcoal fire and take it off immediately after, and it is done. But if you find it too thick, add more oil, whereas if it is too clear, you can thicken it by putting a little turpentine. And so you will give it whatever consistency you want. It could be made without fire, but it is more desiccative when heated. It is appropriate for panel paintings and other painted things, without distorting the colors or yellowing, and dries both in the shade and under the sun, overnight, and during the summer as well as in the winter. It is usually sold 15 sols a pound.</ab>

<note id=”p003r_c2a>You need a little more turpentine than turpentine oil to thicken the varnish, which you need to apply with your finger in order to spread it thinner and less thick because when it is thick, it turns yellow and gathers [together]. Varnish is not used to make paintings shine, because it just takes the light out of them.</note>


Material:
Material for Gilding (pillow, burnisher etc)
Indications: Charcoal fire

Ingredients:
aspic oil
terra emerita / turmeric
sandarac gum
lavender spike oil
turpentine
Aloes?
Amber (finely ground)
Silver leaf
Gold leaf
Ground for gilding
Glue for Gilding


Steps:


Gilding (From Marjolin Bol)


materials

Recipe red bole
Grind red clay with water until it is a viscous paste. Now mix with rsg water solution (1:15). Apply with soft (minnever for instance) brush. Apply about four layers smoothly. polish last layer with your agate burnisher until shiny and very smooth.

Recipe gilding size:
5 ml of ethanol + 20ml of water and a drop of 1:15 rsg solution

Application of gold/silver


Aspic and Turpentine Varnish


ASPIC VARNISH:
- heat lavender spike oil and,
- as it begins to simmer (?), put in powdered sandarac gum so that it soon melts.
- stir continuously over a <m>charcoal</m> fire until the <m>sandarac</m> is well melted,



Two ways of making the “Gold without Gold”


1)
applying some terra emerita to the silver
once dry spread a handful of aspic varnish and sandarac

2)
White turpentine varnish or aspic oil and turpentine is colored with powdered <m>turmeric boiled together with it
Add aloe for more vibrant color


Testing the recipe:
Apply the different trials and recipes to the silver and compare with the color of gold.
Make one batch of Auripetrum. How does the color given by turmeric compare with saffron?
Do the time indications hold up? Would this pass for gold? Why or Why not?


Topics to research for Annotation


Research Auripetrum
Auripetrum is a Varnish made from mixing varnish and saffron that was spread over tin (or silver is also mentioned in Merrifield)

Kevin McCloud's Complete Book of Paint and Decorative Techniques By Kevin McCloud, Michael Crockett
Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia By R. J. Gettens, G. L. Stout
Medieval and renaissance treatises on the Arts of Painting

Use of Turmeric
Turmeric is an odd ingredient to use. It was not often used as a dye or coloring agent outside, though was sometimes used medicinally.

Trade in artists' materials - Kirby, Cannon and Nash

Aspic Varnish
Aspic varnish has also been difficult to find in other sources.

Other kinds of "Gold without Gold" recipes.
Most use mercury as an ingredient.
Both the sources bellow have extensive information on artificial gold.
Medieval and renaissance treatises on the Arts of Painting
The Materials and techniques of Medieval Painting

Making Yellow
Issues of Time (Why is time of the issue?)
What are different types of Yellow?


Related recipes from the Manuscript:


<id>p148r_1</id>
<head>Beautiful color for <m>brass</m></head>
<ab>Having cleaned it well, as is stated, and brushed it well, boil it in water with <m>curcuma root</m> or <m>terra merita</m>, and it will become very beautiful.</ab>

<id>p076v_1</id>
<head>To make a very beautiful and inexpensive golden color</head>
<ab>First of all take a very yellow <m>orange peel</m> and carefully remove the white parts, and pulverize it very well it in a very clean mortar. Take the same amount of <m>sulphur</m>, grind all the ingredients together, pour the mixture into a glass vial, and store it in a cellar or other damp place for eight or ten days. When you want to apply it, you must warm the mixture and apply it wherever you like and you will see a very beautiful color. </ab>

<id>p076v_4</id>
<head>Gilding iron or tin</head>
<ab>First you must wash whatever you want to gild in wine lees. Then wash it once again with white wine. Take three ounces of terra merita and one choppine of white wine. Boil the matter for half an hour, and apply your colors over your iron or tin, or whatever else. Then leave to dry on a sheet of paper and do not put your hand in your materials.</ab>

<id>p073r_3</id>
<head>For orange color</head>
<ab>Take the <m>water</m> where the <m>quicklime</m> will have soaked and some <m>turmeric</m>, and put them one with the other, and then you will put them on your <m>wood</m>.</ab>

<title id=”p098r_a1”>Varnish for lutes</title>
<ab id=”p098r_b1”>They take a little turpentine and some turpentine oil, or spike lavender [oil], and some amber pulverized and very finely sieved & proceed as with that of mastic, & they add some dragon’s blood to color it and turn it red. And others some terra merita to turn it yellow.</ab>