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Some metal working techniques From the second quarter of the 16th century master armourers created works that displayed a variety and refinement of decorative finishes that matched the artistic style characteristic of the applied art of the time. In the first half of the 16th century (the Renaissance style and then the Baroque) they used a wide repertoire of ornament and ancient motifs. By the end of the century there was a clear tendency towards more complex decorative and technical approaches and florid embellishment linked to the spread of Mannerism. These changes can be traced most vividly in the works of German craftsmen. After the second half of the 17th century, the Rococo style began to flourish in European decorative and applied art with its fancifully curving lines and rocaille scrolls. At this time French craftsmen took the lead in the art of arms and armour, strongly influencing their colleagues in other European countries. For the decoration of their works, the craftsmen drew on the albums of engraved ornament containing patterns for decorative embellishment that were already being published early in the 17th century. Pieces from this period feature both ornamental and narrative compositions that were the work of leading decorative artists in Germany, France, Italy and Holland. The methods employed in decorating arms and armour from the 16th century to the middle of the 19th were varied and often combined to complement each other. The main technique for adorning metal part was engraving that was done on the surface using special tools – gravers, chisels, little hammers and files. In addition to these there was raising and hammering, when pieces were embellished by chasing, producing relief designs on the surface of the metal. While German and Austrian craftsmen achieved perfection in the embellishment of arms and armour using engraving, the masters of Brescia had no equals in the use of chasing. Often the metal surface was covered by gilding and silvering. They applied an amalgam of the precious metal to the parts and heated them in the furnace. The mercury evaporated while the gold or silver became firmly attached to the surface of the metal. Great value attached to pieces of arms armour decorated in the damascening technique: a pattern of narrow grooves was cut into the surface of the metal then gold or silver wire (or small insets) was hammered into it. The inserts were then either polished down to the level of the base or left standing proud. A fine pattern could also be applied to the surface of a piece by a simpler process – counterfeit damascening. In this case gold, silver, copper or brass wires or pieces were hammered and burnished onto a cross-hatched area on the surface. From the late 15th century etching came into widespread use as a means of adornment, mainly on pieces of armour. The piece would be coated with wax into which a pattern was incised using a needle. Then the surface was treated with acid. Afterwards the wax was removed leaving the pattern eaten into the metal that might then be gone over with a cutting tool to make it more precise. From the middle of the 16th century, the technique of blueing became common. In this case some oil or acid was applied to the surface of the metal with subsequent heating. As a result it became coated with a black or dark-blue film that not only made the piece look attractive but also protected it from corrosion. One of the most complex decorative techniques, but one of the most widely used and effective, was a mixed approach that organically combined engraving, chasing and gilding. First of all the craftsman drew a design on the metal and engraved it, then working with cutters and chasers he deepened it, leaving a relief image – ornament, individual figures or an entire composition. After that the recessed background was gilded and the protruding design polished. |
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