I was asked to do a Pearl (Grant level award for Arts and Science) for one of the original Masters of Defense who was getting it for teaching and research into the period style of rapier. I asked my Duchess, Her Grace Esa, to help me pick out the exemplar. We went with a page from the Mira and paired it with a nice Batarde style hand. I used pergamenta dyed with a black leather dye for the substrate, then acrylic paint, finetec silver. The calligraphy was done using Bleed-Proof white with a dip pen. Acrylic is not my medium of choice and is a little more difficult for me to work with. Final dimensions: 8"x10" with a 1" border for framing. The original page was only 2/3 black. Many of the pigments would likely still be made of crushed dirt and stones, as well as lead baked in different ways, in addition to a shell silver made of silver crushed and added to gum or glair. "Tempera colors, watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment and paper bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco" according to the Getty with the original leaf size being 16.6 × 12.4 cm (6 9/16 × 4 7/8 in.) In Progress and Detail shots. Clicking on the pictures brings them up.
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I believe this was the first Silver Osprey (Award of Arms level Martial award) I have ever done. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I had to mail it overnight to ensure that it was there in time, I had to rather rush this one. As a result there are no "in progress" pics. The exemplar was from the Biblia Sancti Martialis Lemovicensis.
I like to do Order of Courtesies. Let's be honest, I love to do scrolls. I was approached to do a combination I hadn't seen before. A Queens' Order of Courtesy and an Award of Arms. The good gentle who was being awarded has not had a name or device pass yet so I added my usual caveat on the back, that when his information should pass if he would like I would be honored to add the information that was missing. I found an image that I liked in the Codex Manesse that I felt had a sense of whimsy and tweaked it a bit. Done on an 8" x 10" piece of Pergamenta with a 1" border using modern gouache, imitation shell gold, and higgins ink. The exemplar below was originally 14" x 10" and done on parchment with period pigments of crushed rocks, dirt, and bugs as well as real shell gold. The ink would have been iron oak gall ink. Below, in progress and close ups. Click to see more.
I mentioned to the Backlog Deputy that I finally felt I was ready to tackle a Peerage scroll and asked what she had. My assignment, should I choose to accept it, Count Thorbrandr's Laurel scroll from 1996. One of the joys of doing a backlog, there is no surprise so you can ask the recipient what they would like. He suggested 15th century Italian. My response... my first whitevine. The original was Celsus, Aulus Cornelius: De medicina libri VIII - BSB Clm 69, Florenz, um 1465 [BSB-Hss Clm 69] and had little cherubs on either side of the medallion on the bottom. I removed them and replaced them with men in 15th century Italian armor (original: Farinata degli Ubert by Andrea Del Castagno 1455 ). Within the medallion I placed an image of a wheellock, one of the projects that he has done. The overall scroll size is 11" x 14" While the original manuscript would have been either parchment or vellum, decorated with 24k leaf and pigments made from crushed dirt, rocks, and bugs, and scribed with ink that may have been an oak gall with a higher vinegar content, I used more modern materials. Pergamenta, still using 24k leaf, but using modern gouache and inks. Below, the exemplars. Below, in progress pics and some detail shots.
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AuthorMe, Faílenn Chu ingen ui Fháeláin. Archives
February 2021
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