Dictionarium polygraphicum. Marble and Tortoise Shell Japan.

Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
Vol II.
London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, and S. Austen in St. Paul's Church Yard. MDCCXXXV.
1735
Your wood being prepared in all respects, as for white Japan, then lay it over with flake white or white lead; and if you design your work to be a white with some veins, use vine-black (made of the cuttings of vines, burnt and ground;) mix it with a very weak ising-glafs size, made warm, the said vine-black and white lead, making 2 or 3 degrees of it, till you have produc'd the intended colours for the clouds and veins of marble.

2. Then with a large, clean brush, wet the work over with water; and before it is dry, dip a camel's-hair pencil in the palest thin mixture, and so lay the faintest large clouds and veins, which being laid on while the work is wet, will lie soft and sweet, like that which is natural.

3. And before it is too dry, gently touch all the lesser veins, and variety of the marble, with a smaller pencil, and one degree darker; endeavouring, as much as may be, to imitate nature in ail its footsteps. 4. Then, with a small-pointed seather, touch and break all your smaller veins with the deepest colour, and making them it regular, wild, and confus'd, as they appear in the real stone: then set it by to dry for a day or two, and wash it over with ising-glas size or parchment size.

5. After it has stood for 2 or 3 days to dry, varnish it over 5 or 6 times with the best white varnish, letting it stand to be thoroughly dry between each time: then set it by again for a week, and afterwards polish it and clear it up, according as you are directed in varnishing other works.

6. If you would hive it represent either white or grey marble, you must use the best white varnish; but if yellowish, or of a parchment colour, you must use the best seed-lac varnish, either alone, or mix'd with the white varnish, as you please.


Another marble Japan.

1. Take of the best white varnish, or of the universal varnish, with which mix white lead, finely powdered, and lamp-black, or ivory black, in what proportion you shall think fit, makings degrees of it.

2. Go over the whole work with a brush pencil, with the first and lightest degree, clouding and marbling it in imitation of nature, going over it 4 times, letting it dry between every time.

3. Go over the work again with a second darker degree, and a fresh clean pencil, viz. Some of the clouds, and edges of the clouds, as also some of the greater and lesser veins, shadowing and making them something deeper; repeating this work in different places: in some, twice; in some, 3 times; and in some, 4 times.

4. With the third and darkest degree, go over the edges of some of the darker veins, and over all the lesser veins, repeating the work in spots and particular places 4 times, as before.

5. After you have done all this; let it stand by 2 or 3 days to dry, and strike it over 4 or 5 times or more, either with the best white varnish, or with the best seed-lac varnish, setting it by to dry between every time; then let it stand to dry for a week, and then polish it, and clear it as before directed for other japann'd works.



To make Tortoise-Shell Japan.

1. That which is here endeavoured to be imitated, is tortoise-shell laid upon silver foil, which gives it life and beauty; now to imitate this well, the wood must be close grain'd and smooth, and well wrought, as box, pear-tree, wallnut-tree, &c.

2. But if the wood be coarse-grain'd, as deal, oak, &c. it must be first prim'd with size and whiting, letting it dry between each time, and at last rush it smooth.

3. Then strike over the breadth of a leaf of silver with a fit varnishing pencil, and the thickest seed-lac varnish, then take up the silver leaf with a cotton, and lay it on your work while it is moist, dabbing it down close to the work, as is directed in gilding.

4. Then, in the like manner varnish another place, and lay on another leaf as before, doing this till the whole work is covered over with leaf silver, then let it stand to be thoroughly dry, and sweep off all the loose silver with a fine hair-brush.

5. After this, take lamp-black, or rather Cologn's Earth, (which comes nearest to the colour of the shell,) as much as you please, and grind it with parchment size, or gum water, till it becomes very fine and impalpable; and when it has been ground very fine, mix it with more parchment size and gum water, agreeing with what you first ground withall.

6. Spot the darkest part of your shell-work with this mixture after a careless, cloudy manner, imitating nature as much as can ber letting a piece of true tortoise-shell lie by you for your imitation.

7. Grind fine sanguis draconis in gum water very soft; but some grind it dry, till it is very fine, and then mix it with fine seed-lac varnish, which is most proper and agreeable for this work, and not so apt to be polished off as size or gum water.

8. Now whereas there are several reds, lighter and darker, to be found on the edges of the blacker part, which sometimes lie in streaks and clouds on the transparent part of the lhell; these are to be imitated with one of the two former mixtures of dragons blood.

9. With a small pencil dipp'd in one of those mixtures, dash the said red streaks,&c. flushing them in and about the dark places, both thicker and thinner, fainter and lighter, and with less colour towards the lighter part; and afterwards sweeten it by degrees, that it may so lose its strength and redness, as to be quite lost in the silver, or more transparent parts of the work.

10. When you have done this, give it 6 or 7 washes of fine seed-lac varnish; and letting; it stand to dry for a day or two, rush it gently and very smooth, to render it fit for the next operation.

11. Take fine sanguis draconis and gamboge, of each a sufficient quantity, reduce them to a fine powder, mix these with as much fine seed-lac varnish as will varnish the piece 6 or 7 times over, and set it by to dry for 6 or 7 hours, or more.

12. Then give it another, or third varnishiug with the last mixture, going over it so often, till the silver seems to be chang'd to a gold-like colour.

13. And lastly, take care that your varnish be not too thick and high coloured with the sanguis and gamboges but rather heighten it by degrees, lest the silver be too high coloured, before it has had a sufficient body of varnish. Let it stand to dry 6 or 7 days, then polish and clear it up, as before directed.



Another tortoise-shell Japan.

1. First let your work be very well prim'd, as before directed, then lacker and size it in oil, as is taught in the art of gilding.

2. Lay on the leaf silver, and let it stand till it be very dry, and having the following colours ready, finely ground in oil, viz. red lake, cinnabar, brown pink, Cologn's earth, alias burnt umber; place them distinctly on your pallat.

3. Strike over the work with turpentine varnish, and while it is wet, mix lake and brown pink thin with varnish, and with it lay all your faintest clouds or spots, which, soften sweetly whilst the varnish is moist.

4. Let it stand 5 or 6 hours, and if the colours are dry, with a large soft pencil, pass it lightly over again; and again moistening it, put in more clouds, and darken them more and more, with umber and Cologne earth, before it is dry; always imitating the life, and sweetening your work, by blending and insensibly mixing the colours after they are laid, so that it cannot be perceiv'd where they begin or end.

5. If the clouds are not dark enough, repeat the clouding and varnishing once more, as you shall see occasion; when the work is well dry'd, glaze it over two or three times with brown pink, with a small tincture of verdigrease in it: or you may varnish it with a fine seed-lac varnish, and then finish it, as before.



Another tortoise-shell Japan.

First lay a white ground, as before taught: then, with proper colours, as vermilion, auripigment, &c. duly mix'd with common or turpentine varnish, streak and cloud, or shadow the white ground, with any irregular fancy at pleasure, imitating tortoise-shell as much as you can.

2. Let it stand to be thorough dry, and then strike it here and there with the reddish yellow varnish, mix'd with a little cinnabar or Indian lake, clouding the work up and down as nature requires, and touching it also up with varnish, mix'd with lamp or ivory-black.

3. Having done this, varnish it 5 or 6 times over with the finest white varnish, or the universal varnish, or with the finer seed-lac varnish, letting it stand to dry between every time.



Another tortoise-shell Japan.

1. Lay a white ground as before, and smear it over with vermilion, or some luch like, over which lay leaves of gold or silver, as before taught, with gum ammomacum, lacca, varnish, common varnish, size or glair.

2. Having done this, and it being thoroughly dry, shadow, cloud and stain it, according to some of the former directions, and in imitation of nature; striking it over here and there with yellow varnish, or reddish yellow varnish, and red varnish mix'd with yellow varnish in perfect imitation of the shell.

3. And lastly, then strike it 6 or 8 times over, either with the best white varnish, or with the fine seed-lac varnish, letting it stand to dry between every time; then let it stand to dry for a week, then polish and clear it as before.