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PENTATHALON ENTRY: DIVISION 3, TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES: WOOD EMBELLISHMENT Nine Man's Morris Board
Nine-Man's-Morris Board 1-4. This entry, a nine-mans-morris board, reflects what a painter-artisan might make for use within the family. Made with references and materials from the 12th to the 15th century, from places as diverse as Italy, Spain, and England, this piece is not so much a recreation of an extant piece, but rather an experiment in recreation of medieval thought processes. I was given (okay, I took it, with permission, off the pile of wood being thrown away from my workplace) a scrap bit of oak, and I decided to make a simple nine-man's-morris board with it. I intended originally to make something SCA-compatible just by marking the game pattern with a wood burning tool, as in Viking era game boards, but found that the oak was very hard to burn. Faced with the necessity to put forth a bit more effort, I thought to myself "If I was really a 15th century painter, how would I do this?" There are many examples of painted wooden furniture and statuary; nearly any coffee-table type of book on medieval decorative arts features at least several examples (for instance, The medieval art of love showcases a number of such objects). Thus, I would paint it. This game board marks my first attempt at painting on wood. I have noted, in researching and reading a wide variety of pre-1601 painter’s manuals, that most artists in period did not name a specific type of paint as is the custom of the current era, but rather would describe paints within the context of the binder and the pigment. That said, in modern terms, the paints available to the average 14th- 15th century painter would be oil, casein and other distempers (i.e., other glue-based paints, like parchment size or fish glue), egg tempera, glair, watercolor, or gouache. Of these, I would choose casein; a size-based paint that stands up to wear, has a quick drying time, and is water-resistant. Too, casein glue is the glue most often mentioned in period manuals as the best glue for sticking wooden panels together. None of the other paints listed above has all these qualities. The design is based on embellishments usually seen in manuscripts; as a painter, I am not above using the opportunity to practice decorative techniques. The examples I have been able to locate of morris boards are either very simple, as in Alphonso X's Book of Games and the Viking era board cited in Bell’s Board and Table Games, or significantly complex, as in the German board of the 16th century (see attached). This project is an attempt to create a feasible medium quality board, using design elements that would be within the repertoire of most painters. 5. Materials and tools used in this entry: Oak Board: This was given to me as a scrap from a commercially sawn board. Casein paints: Commercially prepared paints selected as a modern equivalent of period distemper paints. Casein, the component of milk that actually works as a binder, was in use as a glue and paint binder long before the 15th century (for example, see Theophilis, 12th c.), and continues in use as both a glue and binder, particularly for woodwork applications, to this day. For this project, I used artist quality caseins rather than the more readily available "milk paints" sold in craft stores, as the artist quality paints were in more appropriate pigment colors and contain less filler than craft quality paints. Rabbit skin glue (size): purchased granules that I prepared by soaking and then heating. Size is usually applied as a penetrating liquid in order to fill pores and to make the surface more readily accept coatings (like paints). I chose to start the sealing process with the glue to make my gesso go a bit further. Gesso: A surface preparation; I used a very thin layer of gesso over most of the board, and thicker layers over the rougher areas. This gesso I prepared myself from slaked plaster, rabbit skin glue, honey, and white lead. Most period art manuals contain receipts for gesso; a nice, 15th century Italian receipt is attached. Brushes: While Cennini includes instructions for making one's own brushes, I used commercial brushes chosen according to the criteria spelled out by Nicholas Hilliard. I do not have access to sable fur to make my own brushes. Lead point: In period, drawings were often done in leadpoint, which is actually a mixture of tin and lead. Lo and behold, it is the same mixture used in modern lead solder; I snipped a piece of solder off of a spool and inserted it into a quill, thereby creating an expedient lead point. Lead (and other) point holders were in existence in period, so the idea is not too far away from period practice. See "On Metal Pens", attached. Straight edge: Used to draw the morris lines; straight edges, such as rulers and right angles, are frequently pictured in artists' and architects' tool sets in period. See attached.
6. Techniques include planing, scraping, sealing, drawing, and painting. The board came to me in quite the ragged state. {Note: The board came to me in exactly the size you see. I did not saw it; previous judges have deducted points because it was sawn with modern tools, but this was not something I had control over. I did a different period thing: I made use of all my resources and scavenged the wood instead of just throwing the scrap on the pile to be hauled to the city dump.} I attempted to plane down the worst edge, and succeeded in removing the worst of the roughness, but did not have the appropriate tools to get a flat edge. I used a craft knife to scrape at the edges a bit more. Thinking that I had done enough to allow the remaining pits to be filled with gesso, I covered the board in rabbit skin glue and allowed it to dry. I then gessoed the board; I discovered that the quantity of gesso required to fill in the pits was a great deal more than I anticipated; I had no idea just how much would just soak into the wood, despite the size layer, as most of my previous use of gesso has been on paper or vellum. I did not have enough period-style gesso to finish filling in the pits, and decided to just leave them the way they were: they make an excellent warning against assuming anything when working with wood. I shall certainly be glad of the lesson in my next woodworking project, I am sure. Once dry, I applied a base coat of white casein; the gesso was not quite strong enough to cover the variations of the color in the wood, and I wanted an evenly colored base under the morris embellishment (You can flip the board over and compare the difference between the section that was prepared for embellishment versus the section that was just given light coats to provide some protection to the wood. Because of the flaw on the second side, I chose to simply protect the wood, as it is not useful for decoration). Once this dried, I drew the morris lines with the straight edge and the lead point. I applied the base colors for the morris lines, then the highlights. General comments: Il libro delle' Arte, a 15th century painter's manual by Cennini, mentions that wood painting for "caskets" should be done as for panel painting, in that one should cover the wood in gesso and then paint with a paint that will dry permanently. There are plenty of existent examples of painted furniture, some of which does include a gesso base, although this is often (but not always) done in conjunction with gold. However, as I desire to use this board and beat it to pieces playing the game, I chose not to gild. The gesso was used primarily to even out the surface and to decrease the amount of casein needed to paint the wood. After having painted the wood, I have to say that it would be a big improvement to thoroughly gesso the surface; I found that it could be very difficult to paint on the wood, even with it partly filled in with gesso, and things that I can do with ease on paper or vellum became quite difficult on the oak, primarily because of the unevenness of the surface. The brush was frequently caught by the wood grain. As mentioned, this was an excellent experiment in the qualities of painting on wood with period materials. I would like to do panel paintings and fine furniture eventually, and this small, useful bit of "furniture" was a good learning project. I will do more of these small projects to get the feel for the mediums--and more small furnishings to enhance my period ambiance--before moving on to my ultimate desire, a portable shrine. This project was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, and an excellent chance to beat my head in frustration upon the table! Painting on wood is much dicier than paper or vellum. I’m really glad that I did this project, and very happy with all I learned—even though much of it was learning through error!—and am already seeking out period painted caskets as the research basis for my next foray into wood embellishment. Appendix Annotated References Primary Sources MATERIALS Camille, M. The Medieval Art of Love: Objects and Subjects of Desire. Abrams. New York: 1998. Notable here for the number of period wooden, painted objects pictured. There is also a lovely chess board on page 125 made of ivory and (painted?) wood. The text does not specifically say the wood is painted, but there is no mention of decorative inlay of stone or other brightly colored things, leaving paint as the logical choice. Cennini, C. The Craftsman’s Handbook. D. V. Thompson, Translator. Dover. New York: 1960. 15th Century Italian treatise on a variety of arts performed by painters; includes instructions for panel and casket painting, making gesso, glue from cheese (i.e., casein—and, interestingly, it’s essentially the same process as that described by Theophilus), lists of pigments appropriate for paints of the 15th century (very useful in selecting appropriate colors), instructions for making a lead point, and so forth. Hilliard, N. The Arte of Limming. English, late 16th century manuscript regarding the art of miniature portraits, used here for its instructions on the best sort of painter’s brush, and the qualities one should look for in such brushes. While the book also contains pigment information (much of which is also found in Cennini), it is primarily concerned with painting a likeness. Merrifield, M. P., translator. Medieval and Renaissance Treatises on the Arts of Painting. Dover. New York: 1967. Compendium of about 12 translated, period manuals (possibly 14th, definitely 15th-16th c.) dealing primarily with the products used and produced by artists. While nearly all period manuals mention distemper painting with unidentified size, this one specifically mentions painting with casein. Theophilus. On Divers Arts. J.G Hawthorne & C.S. Smith, trans. Dover. Written about 1122, this is the first instructional manual written by a practicing artist. Interesting read, and the best part of it, for this project, is the instruction to carefully shape wood for panels with the tools used by coopers and then use cheese glue (that’s right, casein) to stick the panels together. I have to say, this project made the whole "Panels for Altars and Doors; and Cheese Glue" chapter of this book far more meaningful. The last, seemingly strange instruction in this chapter, to cover the glued up and dried panels with the dehaired, dampened, raw hide of a large animal would be a primitive way of covering the panels with hide glue, and leads me to wonder if this was an intentional effect, or a secondary benefit discovered as a result of protecting or dampening the panels with the hide. This step does not appear in Cennini. Vasari, Giorgio. Vasari on Technique. Dover. New York. 1960. 16th century Italian treatise on various arts, notable here mostly for the explicit, although confusingly worded, directive to apply size before or after gesso to prepare a surface for painting.
BOARD DESIGN Alphonso X's Book of Games (In Spanish: Libro de los Juegos or Libros del Axedrez, Dados et Tablas) Facsimile publication at http://games.rengeekcentral.com/ Spanish manuscript of the 13th century, featuring 150 color drawings of people playing games. Pictures two versions of nine-mans-morris in play, with very simple board design. Backgammon and Chess Boards, 16th century, Flagg Collection of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Art, Milwaukee Public Museum. While not Nine-mans-morris boards, two excellent examples of elaborately decorated boards from the 16th century. Personal visit. Also in this gallery are several examples of "unfinished" furniture and painted wooden statues. di Bonaguida, Pacino. Scenes from the Life of the Blessed Gerard of Villamanga. 14th Century. Facsimile publication in Kanter, L., et al. Painting and Illumination in early Renaissance Florence, 1300-1450. Harry Abrams. New York, 1994. Inspiration for the yellow on red motif between the morris lines. The original is an ultramarine blue base with white embellishment. dei Gherarducci, Silvestro. The Last Supper in an Initial C. Facsimile publication in Kanter, L., et al. Painting and Illumination in early Renaissance Florence, 1300-1450. Harry Abrams. New York: 1994. Inspiration for the blue and white design on the long morris line. The design had to be somewhat modified, not just because I wanted to change it a bit, but also because the constant catching of the brush in the grain of the wood made it quite difficult to replicate the delicate design! Well, it was a good exercise in expedient reconsideration. ;-) Monaco, Lorenzo. Saint John the Baptist in an Initial F. Facsimile publication in Kanter, L., et al. Painting and Illumination in early Renaissance Florence, 1300-1450. Harry Abrams, New York, 1994. Cited as an example of the use of yellow to embellish a red base. Nine-Man’s-Morris Board in the Bavarian National Museum. 16th Century. Facsimile publication in Board Games: Mill, Merelles, Muhle, Morels, Morris Games at http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~museum/vexhibit/board/rowgames/mill.html. Very elaborate German board that appears to be decorated in a manner similar to the two boards at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Secondary Sources MATERIALS
Doerner, Max. The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting. Revised ed. E. Neuhaus, translator. Harvest Book. New York:1984. Modern version of painter’s manual with history. It complements the Mayer book in many ways, but is especially useful for the section on dealing with the writings and identifying the techniques of the old masters—like Cennini. Gettens, R. & G. Stout. Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia. Dover. New York: 1966. Concise entry on casein paints, identifying their use all the way back to the Egyptians. Mayer, Ralph. The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques. 3rd Ed. Viking Press. New York:1970. A modern version of the painter’s manual, plus history of the materials. It complements the Doerner book very well, but is especially useful for its greater variety of materials studied; the Doerner book is concerned primarily with oil painting.
BOARD DESIGN
Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. Dover. New York: 1979. Contains line drawing of a fragment of a Viking-age nine-mans-morris board and a brief but useful overview of the history and rules of the game. Questions, comments, suggestions, thoughts? I welcome correspondence at merouda (at) hotmail (dot) com. 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}
This document created May 2001 |
