Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

76

to contain sufficient lead to fu lfill the requirements of the above fo rmula or

fo r a heavy lead glass.

In Venice, there is blue enamel opacified with arsenic 250 years before it is

known to have been used to opacifY glass. In Basohli two centuries later, a

pigment previously unknown in India was used and in three cases; it is very

similar to the Venetian enamel. The enamels are of exactly the same period

as when smalt first appears in European paintings, but in no example yet

identified does it contain arsenic and bismuth. Do we have two completely

independent discoveries, or were both importing enamel fr it from some Mid­

dle Eastern source that was using arsenic as an opacifier earlier than the

Venetians? The author has been unable to find any analyses which may hold

the answer to the sources of Persian or Middle Eastern enamels of the relevant

period.

As a footnote, smalt contammg a trace of bismuth was fo und on a south

German oil painting (ca. 14 00-1 500 C.E.) in the collection of the Courtauld

Institute of Art (46). In this case, it seems likely that the cobalt oxide colorant

was obtained from the residue of the smelting of bismuth (as described pre­

viously), and that it is an accidental constituent.

Conclusion

Trade, industry, and art are ancient, ubiquitous, and international. This paper

has endeavored to show that "new" pigments can still be fo und in unexpected

places. The connections and coincidences that become apparent to the sci­

entist through laboratory testing indicate historical trade and industrial de­

velopments, and may sometimes ultimately depend on the craftsperson who

experiments with new materials. Our ability to understand these connections

and coincidences requires knowledge of metalworking, ceramics, glass, and

enamels to explain these connections and coincidences both in time and

place.

Notes

1. Watson, 0. 1994. Personal communication. Ceramics and Glass Collection, Vic­
   toria & Albert Museum, London SW7 2RL.


2. Turner, W E. S., and H. P. Rooksby, 1959. A study of the opalising agents in
   ancient opal glasses throughout three thousand four hundred years. Glastechnische
   Berichte 32K (VIII): 17-28.


3. Neri, A. 1612. L'Arte Vetraria. Florence.


4. Turner, op. cit.


5. Darrah, J. A. 1992. Venetian and Facon de Venise glass. Unpublished analyses.
   London: Victoria & Albert Museum.


6. Merrifield, M. P. 1849. Original treatises Jrom the XIIth to the XVIIlth centuries on
   the arts oj painting. John Murray, London, 200-5.


7. Merrifield, op. cit., 704-5.
   8. Merrifield, op. cit., cliii.


8. Harley, R. 1982. Artist's pigments c. 16 0(}-1835. 2nd ed., Butterworth Scientific,
   172-73.


9. Harley, op. cit.


10. Ibid.


11. Ibid.


12. Tingry, 1830. The Painter's and Colourman's Complete Guide. 3rd ed. London:
    Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper, 45.


13. Linton, W 1852. Ancient and Modem Colours Jrom the Earliest Periods to the Present
    Time. Longman, Green, Brown and Longman. London, 55.


14. Field, G. 1890. The Rudiments oj Colours and Colouring. Strahan and Co. London,


15. 
    


16. Mayer, R. 1951. The Artists Handbook oj Materials and Techniques. London: Faber,


17. 
    


18. Isacco, E., and J. A. Darrah. 1993. The ultraviolet and infrared method of analysis.
    A scientific approach to the study of Indian miniatures. Artibus Asiae, LIII (3/
    4):470-9 1.


19. Merrifield, op. cit., 650-51, 700.

Historical Painting Tech niques, Materials, and Studio Practice