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Simple Project Diary This project will alter a thrift-store find and scrap materials my Lord has discarded into an SCA Ambiance decorated box.
Day 1 [Days 2-5] [Days 6-7] [Day 8-10] The first step in any project is some research. It doesn't have to be extensive, although the better your research, the better your project will turn out. As this project is intended for ambiance rather than authenticity, I am not worried about material choices, since this is about getting modern stuff to look right in our period. However, to achieve that goal, I have to recognize a period aesthetic, and I have to recognize what is well outside it: wood embellishment is a newer area for me, but I have a decent understanding of what looks period versus what looks modern, and I won't be decorating the wood with feathers and beads and strings of pearls.
There are many, many examples of decorated chests, caskets and boxes in period. It will be easy to go through my books and pick out a few examples; in fact, I have a few painted and heraldicly decorated examples in my heraldry galleries: http://www.merouda.com/gallery/periodpictures/henviiidesk is Henry VIII's writing desk—a portable box, and http://www.merouda.com/gallery/periodpictures/chest is a painted swiss coffer, and this panel chest from the Tower of London: http://www.merouda.com/gallery/periodpictures/londonchest.
I am particularly interested in making this a Tudor era heraldic display, so the Henry VIII box is a better example. The project is a simple box for holding my hair clips and cosmetics while camping, though, so I don't want it to be as elaborate. Furthermore, there are some examples of veneer work that I really admire, but I'm not interested in applying elaborate technique to this box. There are some nicely decorated crossbows at http://198.144.2.125/Crossbows/crossbows.htm that appear to be veneer/inlay, a lovely article about conserving some Italian intarsia (marquetry) panels at http://www.yannickchastang.com/ITALIAN_PANELS_CONSERVATION.htm A late 16th, early 17th c. intarsia cassone here: http://www.faccents.com/item623.html a very simple 16th intarsia chest example here: http://www.faccents.com/item648.html note single panel decorated with papal-type arms arms. w00t! Multiple examples of intarsia/marquetry used as a broad-based technique.
So, now we have some visual suggestions that allow me to be reasonably sure that a simple display of arms with a little bit of decorative fiddling is a reasonable design for a peri-oid box.
Next, while modern materials are the order of the day, I want to know a little bit about historical technique—I absolutely intend to design the panel and then decorate it with stains and pyrography rather than cut out all those fiddly bits. It's to LOOK like marquetry, not BE marquetry. I'd earlier done some research on pyrography, so I know it's period although not a big technique. I have a faint recollection of mentions of both stained woods and the use of varnishes and oils in finishing woodwork. I know that The Art of Limming (1576) mentions “amber” varnish and linseed oil applied to finish woodwork, but I can not recall which of the many books I have read mention staining. More importantly, I want to know if the woods used for intarsia/marquetry are ever colored, or if the color range is always achieved by different woods. This will direct me in how I document the box.
Hours later, after I've furled about 3/4th of the more interesting sites I've look at, I conclude that it's not unreasonable to stain the woods for the intarsia-look panel. The furl book marks are at http://www.furl.net/members/merouda Thank god there is a woodworker out there who cited some period sources; it'll make looking up those references much easier, as I have most of the art manuals he's mentioned.
However, if I plan to move into this style of decoration in a more period fashion, I will have to dig out better references for the specific use of dyed wood in intarsia/marquetry; web sites are notoriously unreliable, and I have some question about some of the sources I've found. In the bibliography, I will have to indicate which of the articles give me pause.
Interesting thing I learned: intarsia is inserting the wooded bits into carved-out spaces. Marquetry is assembling the wooden bits like a puzzle and gluing it all down to the surface. I did not know that.
Anyway, I've got enough background now to proceed.
The box is a, as mentioned, a thrift store find. I have no idea what sort of wood it is. It was plain but for an applied silhouette that I completely did not care for. The interior of the box is plain but for a metal mirror (no breakage, huzzah) and several strips of gold-covered cardboard. I intend to leave the interior as is—it's going to get covered with cosmetics and such things through the years. I initially intended to paint a roundel on the box with casein paints; however, I noticed a pile of scrap flexible wood that my lord uses in veneering and it struck me as an excellent opportunity to try something new.
The box in its original state.
Box interior.
Additional materials: flexible wood, about 1/8 inch thick, sandpaper, a variety of wood stains. I thought about using a resist as well, to cover various parts of the wood and allow simpler staining, but I decided I'd rather have the lining that pyrography will provide.
The silhouette is off the box, the box top has been sanded, as has been the veneer wood. Tomorrow: draw the design, transfer it to the wood, and stain. Use your back button, or {Elyse Boucher} {Arts and Sciences Top} {A&S Heraldry} {Poopie the Pirate} {Help Support This Site} (old link bar, some still active): {Elise Boucher} {Sept Pendray} {Merouda Pendray}
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