Plate 55.—Panel from S. Pietro in Casinense, Perugia.
At Hardwick some of the door panels are painted with arabesques in Indian ink, and varnished (a process also employed on several pieces of furniture in the South Kensington collection), and even in certain cases, no doubt under the direction of Bess of Hardwick, engravings have been stuck on the panels, tinted, surrounded with similar painting, and then similarly varnished over. The sacristy cupboards at S. Maria delle Grazie, Milan, called "Lo Scaffale," show paintings of no less an artist than Luini, the ornamental part of which is intended to simulate tarsia.
For small objects, such as trinket boxes, a marquetry of straw tinted to different colours was sometimes employed, which, though not very lasting, in the hands of a worker who possessed taste in colour sometimes produced pleasing results, a form of work practised both in Holland and England, and lasting well into the 19th century. The writer possesses one or two objects decorated by this process which were bought from the French prisoners taken in the Peninsular War, who provided themselves with little luxuries by making and selling them. In all these imitative processes the question of design becomes of the very highest importance, since the material has neither beauty nor intrinsic value in itself; and here, even more than in many other forms of manufacture, the presence and influence of the intelligent designer is most desirable, and should be paramount.
WORKSHOP RECEIPTS
The use of stains and chemical baths for changing the colour of the wood employed by the intarsiatori was common from the time of Fra Giovanni da Verona, to whom Vasari ascribes the invention, but is most distinctive of the work of the later Dutch and French marqueteurs. Receipts for the purpose were handed down from master to pupil, and while sometimes held as traditional secrets to be jealously guarded, were sometimes committed to writing; and several of these manuscripts have come down to us. The following have been collected from French, German, and Italian sources, and though not all of equal value, show the way in which the ancient workers produced the effects, most of which we admire in the present day:—
To stain wood yellow (No. 1).—Put saffron in water, and when it is well steeped place the jar over hot coals. Then spread the stuff over boxwood with a brush. To make it brilliant let it dry, and put it with oil on the wood to be coloured. (No. 2.)—Take the plant turmeric (curcuma longa), grind it to powder; put an ounce into a pint of spirit (12 oz.), and leave it for a day. If the tone is required reddish, add some dragon's blood. (No. 3.)—A cheaper but duller colour is to be obtained from steeped French berries, then dried, with weak alum water brushed over it. Thin pieces are dipped in it. The solution of French berries may be made thus—Take 1 lb. of French berries, and a gallon of water with ½ oz. of alum; boil for an hour in a pewter vessel, and filter through paper. Evaporate till the colour appears strong enough. Another receipt says 4 oz. of French berries put to steep in a pint of water is to have added to it 1 oz. of hazel nuts and as much alum. Wood may also be stained yellow with aqua fortis, used warm, and then immediately placed near the fire. The aqua fortis must not be too strong, or the wood will go brown or black. This is apparently the same thing as Vasari calls "oil of sulphur," used in his time for colouring wood. A Nuremberg receipt book says that the plant Tournesol (croton tinctorium) may be steeped in water, and this solution mixed with yellow colour and glue may be spread over the wood warm, and finally polished with a burnisher. Holtzapffel gives the following:—A bright yellow stain may be obtained from 2 oz. of turmeric allowed to simmer for some hours in 1 quart of water in an earthen vessel, water being added from time to time to replace evaporation. Sparingly applied cold, it stains white woods the colour of satin wood. A canary yellow results from immersing the wood in the liquid, which can be rendered permanent without polishing by a strong solution of common salt. Washing the stained surface with nitro-muriate of tin for about a minute changes the colour to orange. The work should then be well rinsed in plain water to check the further action of the acid. Treating the canary yellow with 2 oz. of sulphate of iron dissolved in 3 quarts of water, after it has been allowed to dry, dyes a delicate olive brown. A tincture of ¼ oz. of turmeric to 3 oz. of spirits of wine, allowed to stand for some days and well shaken daily, gives a rather higher colour.
Red may be produced by (No. 1) taking a pound of Brazil wood, with some rain water, a handful of unslaked lime, and two handsful of ashes; soak all for half an hour in water, "cook" it, and pour it out into another pot, in which is a measure of gum arabic. The wood to be coloured must be cooked in alum water, and then brushed over with the warm colour; the result is a splendid scarlet red. If the wood was first grounded with saffron water and then had the Brazil decoction applied, the result was orange; a spoonful of lye made a browner colour, with a little alum. If whiter wood was taken the colour was correspondingly brighter. (No. 2.)—Orcanda or Akanna root powdered, with nut oil, gives a fine red. (No. 3.)—Put lime in rain water, strain it, scrape Brazil twigs in it, then proceed as in No. 1. You can also soak the Brazil in tartar. The same colour with Tournesol steeped in water gives a fine purple when spread on the wood. Lebrun gives the same receipt, adding that the beauty of the colour is increased by rubbing with oil, and that pear wood is the best to use. Another receipt says:—Make a strong infusion of Brazil wood in stale urine or water impregnated with pearl ash, 1 oz. to a gallon; to a gallon of either of which put 1 lb. of Brazil wood. Let it stand for two or three days, often stirring it. Strain the infusion, and brush over the wood boiling hot; then, while still wet, brush over with alum water, 2 oz. to a quart of water. A less bright red may be made with 1 oz. of dragon's blood in a pint of spirits of wine, brushed over the wood.