Paper marbling
Paper marbling is a method of
Procedure
There are several methods for making marbled papers. A shallow tray is filled with water, and various kinds of ink or paint colors are carefully applied to the surface with an ink brush. Various additives or surfactant chemicals are used to help float the colors. A drop of "negative" color made of plain water with the addition of surfactant is used to drive the drop of color into a ring. The process is repeated until the surface of the water is covered with concentric rings. The floating colors are then carefully manipulated either by blowing on them directly or through a straw, fanning the colors, or carefully using a human hair to stir the colors.
In the 19th century, the
Another method of marbling more familiar to Europeans and Americans is made on the surface of a viscous mucilage, known as size or sizing in English. While this method is often referred to as "
Historic forms of marbling used both organic and inorganic pigments mixed with water for colors, and sizes were traditionally made from
In the size-based method, colors made from
Cobb paper or cloth is often mordanted beforehand with aluminium sulfate (alum) and gently laid onto the floating colors (although methods such as Turkish ebru and Japanese suminagashi do not require mordanting). The colors are thereby transferred and adhered to the surface of the paper or material. The paper or material is then carefully lifted off the size and hung up to dry. Some marblers gently drag the paper over a rod to draw off the excess size. If necessary, excess bleeding colors and sizing can be rinsed off, and then the paper or fabric is allowed to dry. After the print is made, any color residues remaining on the size are carefully skimmed off of the surface, in order to clear it before starting a new pattern.
Contemporary marblers employ a variety of modern materials, some in place of or in combination with the more traditional ones. A wide variety of colors are used today in place of the historic pigment colors. Plastic broom straw can be used instead of broom corn, as well as bamboo sticks, plastic
paints.History in East Asia
An intriguing reference which some think may be a form of marbling is found in a compilation completed in 986 CE entitled Four Treasures of the Scholar's Study (文房四譜;
This paper was made by dragging a piece of paper through a fermented flour paste mixed with various colors, creating a free and irregular design. A second type was made with a paste prepared from honey locust pods, mixed with
Su Yijian was an Imperial scholar-official and served as the chief of the Hanlin Academy from about 985–993 CE. He compiled the work from a wide variety of earlier sources and was familiar with the subject, given his profession. Yet it is important to note that it is uncertain how personally acquainted he was with the various methods for making decorative papers that he compiled. He most likely reported information given to him, without having a full understanding of the methods used. His original sources may have predated him by several centuries. Not only is it necessary to identify the original source to attribute a firm date for the information, but also the account remains uncorroborated due to a lack of any surviving physical evidence of marbling in Chinese manuscripts.
In contrast, suminagashi (墨流し), which means 'floating ink' in Japanese, appears to be the earliest form of marbling during the 12th-century
According to legend, Jizemon Hiroba is credited as the inventor of suminagashi. It is said that he felt divinely inspired to make suminagashi paper after he offered spiritual devotions at the
History in the Islamic world
The method of floating colors on the surface of
The art first emerged and evolved during the long 16th century in
), among others.A pair of leaves purported to be the earliest examples of this paper, preserved in the Kronos collection, bears rudimentary droplet-motifs. One of the sheets bears an accession notation on the reverse stating "These abris are rare" (یاد داشت این ابریهای نادره است) and adds that it was "among the gifts from Iran" to the royal library of
Approximately a century later, a technically advanced approach using finely prepared mineral and organic pigments and combs to manipulate the floating colors resulted in comparatively elaborate, intricate, and mesmerizing overall designs. Both literary and physical evidence suggests that before 1600, a
The earliest examples of Ottoman marbled paper may be the margins attached to a cut paper découpage manuscript of the Hâlnâma (حالنامه) by the poet Arifi (popularly known as the Gû-yi Çevgân ['Ball and Polo-stick']) completed by Mehmed bin Gazanfer in 1539–40. Recipes ascribed to one early master by the name of Shebek, appear posthumously in the earliest, anonymously compiled Ottoman miscellany on the art known as the Tertîb-i Risâle-'i Ebrî (ترتیبِ رسالۀ ابری, 'An Arrangement of a Treatise on Ebrî'), dated on the basis of internal evidence to after 1615. Many in Turkey attribute another famous 18th-century master Hatip Mehmed Efendi (died 1773) with developing motif and perhaps early floral designs and refer to them as "Hatip" designs, although similar evidence also survives from Iran and India, which await further study.
The current Turkish tradition of ebru dates to the mid-19th century, with a series of masters associated with a branch of the
The premier student of Edhem Efendi, Necmeddin Okyay (1885–1976), first taught the art at the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul. He famously innovated elaborate floral designs, in addition to yazılı ebru, a method of writing traditional calligraphy using a gum arabic resist masking applied before marbling the sheet. Okyay's premier student, Mustafa Düzgünman (1920–1990), taught many contemporary marblers in Turkey today. He codified the traditional repertoire of patterns, to which he only added a floral daisy design, after the manner of his teacher.[12]
History in Europe
In the 17th century,
The methods of marbling attracted the curiosity of intellectuals, philosophers, and scientists. Gerhard ter Brugghen published the earliest European technical account, written in Dutch, in his Verlichtery kunst-boeck in Amsterdam in 1616, while the first German account was written by Daniel Schwenter, published posthumously in his Delicæ Physico-Mathematicæ in 1671 (Benson, "Curious Colors", 284; Wolfe, 16). Athanasius Kircher published a Latin account in Ars Magna Lucis et Umbræ in Rome in 1646, widely disseminated knowledge of the art throughout Europe. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert published a thorough overview of the art with illustrations of marblers at work together with images of the tools of the trade in their Encyclopédie.[13][14][15]
In 1695, the Bank of England employed partially marbled papers banknotes for several weeks until it discovered that William Chaloner had successfully forged similar notes (Benson, "Curious Colors", 289–294). Nevertheless, the Bank continued to issued partially marbled cheques until the 1810s (Benson, "Curious Colors", 301–302). In 1731, English marbler Samuel Pope obtained a patent for security marbling, claiming that he invented the process, then sued his competitors for infringement; however, those he accused exposed him for patent fraud (Benson, "Curious Colors", 294–301). Benjamin Franklin obtained English marbled security papers employed for printing Continental Congress $20 banknote in 1775, as well as promissory notes to support the American Revolutionary War, threepence notes issued during the Copper Panic of 1789, as well as his own personal cheques (Benson, "Curious Colors", 302–307).
Nineteenth century
After
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Marbling tray and tools from School of Arts (1750)
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Marblers at work, from l'Encyclopedie of Diderot and d'Alembert
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An edge marbler and paper finisher with related equipment, from l'Encyclopedie
In the 21st century
Marblers still make marbled paper and fabric, even applying the technique to three-dimensional surfaces. Aside from continued traditional applications, artists now explore using the method as a kind of painting technique, and as an element in collage. In recent decades, international symposia and museum exhibitions featured the art. A marbling journal Ink & Gall sponsored the first International Marblers' Gathering held in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1989. Active international groups can be found on social media networks such as Facebook and the International Marbling Network.[citation needed]
Another adaptation called body marbling has emerged at public events and festivals, applied with non-toxic, water-based neon or ultraviolet reactive paints.[17][18]
Examples
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Marbled endpaper from a book bound in the Netherlands or Germany between 1720 and 1770
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Marbled endpaper from a book bound in France around 1735
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Paper marbling from a book bound in England around 1830
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Paper marbling in a 1718 copy of Opere di Galileo Galilei
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Marbled endpaper from a book bound in France around 1880
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Marbled endpaper from a book bound in France around 1880 (detail)
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A combed marbled pattern from the front flyleaf of a binding of The Playmate: A Pleasant Companion for Spare Hours by Joseph Cundall, Printed by Barclay, 1847.
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Combed marbled paper, from the front flyleaf of a binding of Oriental Fragments by Maria Hack, printed in London for Harvey and Dartman, 1828.
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1912 edition ofDodd, Mead and Company's The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck
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Frontispiece detail of The Life of the Bee
See also: The Richard J. Wolfe marbled paper collection. University of Pennsylvania. Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.
See also
Notes
- ISBN 1849945535.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "suminagashi" 墨流し. Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ "Qur'anic verse (14:7) on blue and white marble paper". Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ ابری.» دائرة المعارف بزرگ اسلامی». Great Islamic Encyclopedia Center (in Persian). Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ روش ساخت کاغذ ابری یا ابرو باد [How to make cloud paper or eyebrows]. Parsiblog (in Persian). July 3, 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-89722-364-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8122-8188-0.
- ISBN 9780300211108. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- S2CID 216420140.
- ISBN 9780253048943.
- ^ "Art of Ebrû". Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ "Ebru Masters". Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ Denis Diderot. Jean le Rond d'Alembert; Robert Morrissey (eds.). "Marbreur de papier". Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, etc., eds. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D'Alembert. University of Chicago: ARTFL Encyclopédie Project. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ Diderot, Denis. "Marbreur de papier". Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, etc., eds. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D'Alembert. University of Chicago: ARTFL Encyclopédie Project. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- .
- ^ "Die Vergangenheit von Budakeszi". Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ Valenti, Lauren (9 September 2016). "The New "Body Marbling" Trend Is Must-See Stuff, People". Marie Claire.
- ^ Scott, Ellen (9 September 2016). "Body Marbling Is the New Festival Trend You're Going to Be Obsessed with". Metro.
References
- Benson, Jake (2015). "The Art of Abri: Marbled Album Leaves, Drawings, and Paintings of the Deccan". In Haidar, Navina Najat; Sardar, Marika (eds.). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 157–159. ISBN 9780253048943.
- Benson, Jake (2019). "Curious Colors of Currency: Security Marbling on Financial Instruments During the Long Eighteenth Century". American Journal of Numismatics. 31: 277–325, Plates 37–27. ISBN 978-0-89722-364-5.
- Benson, Jake (2020). "Chapter 12: The Qit'at-i Khushkhatt Album: Authenticity and Provenance". In Overton, Keelan (ed.). Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700. Indiana University Press. pp. 337–366. S2CID 216420140.
- Chambers, Ann (1991). Suminagashi: The Japanese Art of Marbling. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-486-24651-5.
- Grunebaum, Gabriele (2003). How to Marbleize Paper. Dover. ISBN 0-486-24651-5.
- Miura, Einen (1991). The Art of Marbled Paper: Marbled Patterns and How to Make Them. Kodansha International. ISBN 4-7700-1548-8.
- Narita, Kiyofusa (1954). Japanese Paper-making. Hokuseido Press.
- Porter, Yves (1994). Painters, Paintings, and Books: An Essay on Indo-Persian Technical Literature, 12–19th Centuries. Manohar: Centre for Human Sciences. ISBN 81-85425-95-7.
- ISBN 0-521-08690-6.
- Wolfe, Richard J. (1990). Marbled Paper: Its History, Techniques, and Patterns: With Special Reference to the Relationship of Marbling to Bookbinding in Europe and the Western World. ISBN 0-8122-8188-8.
- Su, Yijian (2008). Wen Fang Si Pu. Shi dai wen yi chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5387-2380-9.
External links
- High-resolution images of paper marbling from the University of Washington libraries
- The International Marbling Network
- Article about marbled paper by Joel Silver from Fine Books magazine, Nov./Dec. 2005 issue
- Art of the Marbler, 1970 film by Bedfordshire Record Office of Cockerell marbling
- Example of ebru, a short film from the American Islamic College