Marble, tortoiseshell, wood and other materials created in paint and lacquer during the Baroque period in Denmark Berit Møller Introduction but there are some indications that the imitations Marble, tortoiseshell, wood and other materials created in paint lacquer during the Baroque period Denmark Faux marble created with paint has been known are somehow linked to the introduction of the imi- since ancient times. However, in the Baroque tation of Asian lacquer. period (1660-1740), marble, wood, tortoiseshell, The encouragement to imitate Asian lacquer starts and other rare or expensive materials were imitated with the shortage of genuine Asian lacquerware on with the aid of paint and lacquer. The production the European markets. As early as around 1610 the of painted faux materials on surfaces of furniture Dutch entrepreneur Willem Kick is making Asian and interiors was not only a matter of saving money lacquer imitations on boxes of various sizes.1 on very expensive materials. To produce things that The scant general knowledge of Asian craft and were not what they seemed to be was a very popular fashion determines the motives which are painted topic in the seventeenth century. on the lacquerware as well as the materials and This paper attempts to get a clearer picture of the methods used. This results in items picturing the development of material imitation in Denmark in European idea of Asian decoration instead of being the Baroque period. The setting for this investi - a proper imitation. As time passes, and the knowl- gation is two of the royal palaces in Denmark. In edge of Asia increases, the quality of the imitations Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen and Fredensborg improves. Palace north of Copenhagen there are several exam- Even though the Europeans don’t have much ples of painted faux materials. They were executed knowledge of Asian urushi lacquer in the early in the period from 1663 up to the 1730s by a small part of the Baroque period, they manage to pro - number of specially trained painters – marblers duce quite a presentable imitation of the surface or lacquer masters - working for the Danish king. of Asian lacquerware. However, they use materials which can be purchased in Europe and with which The study covers four main areas: they have experience. This ‘japanning’ probably • The treatises and recipes that describe methods inspired craftsmen to mimic other materials with and materials which the painters might have comparable glossy, hard and smooth surfaces such known and used in their work. as polished marble, polished tortoiseshell and pol- • Examples of imitations are examined through ished wood. Architectural Paint Research (cross-sections and uncovered surfaces). The treatises and recipes in the Baroque period • The lacquer masters who manufactured faux It is a fact that the treatises of the seventeenth materials on objects and interiors for the Danish century list the art of japanning right next to the king. art of marbling and creating faux tortoiseshell, as • The origins of the design of the imitations. Did is seen in the two early publications Polygraphice the painters have real stone samples, tortoise - The Arts of Drawing, Engraving, Etching, Limning, shell etc. to work from, or are the imit ations Painting, Varnishing, Japanning, Gilding, etc., by from this period pure fantasy? William Salmon, first published in 1672, and A treatise of Varnishing and Japanning, by Stalker and Imitation in the Baroque period Parker, published in 1688. Both treatises use the Since classic times, trying to imitate nature has same materials and methods for japanning as well been a challenge for the painter. Executing the as for marbling, faux tortoiseshell and other mate- 19 imitation so well that the spectator is tricked into rials.2 The oldest Danish recipe book dealing with believing that genuine materials have been used. the subject is called, in translation, ‘A short and The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were a detailed instruction on how to prepare lacquer golden period for the art of imitating materials that and how to japan, so arranged that anybody on were used for decorating a surface on either a wall their own can beautifully lacquer, in simple lacquer or a piece of furniture. Why this is so, is not clear, and Brilliant [Venturin Lacquer] with all kinds of colours’. The book was published in 1746 by an layer structure consists of different binding mate- unknown author. rials: Examining the recipes in these publications we • Ground: Leaf silver. Flames: Glue paint and find which materials and working methods were coloured lacquer. Finish: Lacquer recommended. But even though these publications • Ground: Leaf silver. Flames: Oil colours. Finish: are quite detailed we cannot be sure that the author Lacquer completely understood the working process or the • Ground: Red and yellow colour. Flames: materials, since the recipes often were translated Coloured lacquer. Finish: Lacquer from another language or just copied from an • Ground: Red and silver or gold colour. Flames: older work. It is also likely that the knowledge of a Coloured lacquer: Finish: Lacquer method went from master to apprentice. Through the generations experience grew and new smarter Stalker & Parker present two recipes. Both of them methods were developed. are inspired by Salmon’s recipes 1 and 3. However, Stalker & Parker are also supplying more advice on One of the earliest recipes I have been able to find choosing methods and materials, and they give a regarding the imitation work of marble, tortoise- small history lesson on the fashion of tortoiseshell. shell etc. is found in the publication by William The Oldest Danish recipe on tortoiseshell from Salmon. In this book there are a number of imita - 1746 is somewhat different but resembles to a tion recipes. Salmon presents us with examples of certain extent the third of Salmon’s recipes as the what usually is imitated in the following introduc- ground for this tortoiseshell is not a layer of silver tion to the subject: If you are to imitate anything, as but a red ground. The flames are made with glue Amber, Lapis Lasuli, Marble, Tortoise shell, etc. you must paint and the colours are applied from the lightest first make the Imitation of them upon that which you colour towards the darkest, which is the opposite would Varnish. With their proper Colours, as in Limning or of all the former recipes.3 The imitation is finished Painting with Oil, which must be throughly dry: then by with several layers of lacquer which are polished the former section go over all with the Varnish so often, till and finished with a last layer of clear varnish. you see it thick enough, letting it dry every time leisurely. Other recipes The recipes for marbling In the treatises there are a magnitude of differ- Salmon presents two recipes for marbling. They ent varnish recipes which cover a wide spectrum represent two different methods where the layer of optical effects: coloured lacquers, such as red, structure consists of different binding materials. blue, green, yellow, olive-coloured, chestnut- Both recipes are for a white marble with black veins coloured, and white.4 Lacquers for wood without and grey clouds: colour. Imitation of Indian lacquer, Bantam work, • Distemper painted motives finished with layers of lacquer for Japanese and Chinese golden figures lacquer to obtain a high gloss and gold or silver speckles in lacquer (aventurine • Motives painted solely with layers of lacquer lacquer). Imitations of lapis lazuli stone, marble, tortoiseshell. Imitation of amber is mentioned but Stalker & Parker present only one recipe and it not described in detail. Imitation of porcelain is resembles the first of Salmon. The contents and the described in the Danish treatise from 1746. phrasing are almost the same, so Stalker & Parker In the early Baroque treatises there is no mention must have copied the older work. of how to manufacture faux wood, however, several The two oldest Danish recipes on marbling from examples of this are to be found in the Baroque 1746 only refer to the lacquerwork itself. In these period in Denmark.5 Thirteenth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation Thirteenth International Symposium on Wood recipes the author describes exclusively the manu- facture of the finishing lacquer layers of a black Methods and materials marbling and of marbling with other colours. How Analysing these early recipes we find that they strive 20 to produce the black and coloured marbling – the to imitate the real material, it being marble or tor - ground layers with painted veins and other details toiseshell. For example, regarding the imitation of – is not mentioned at all. tortoiseshell it is recommended to have a little piece of shell next to you when you work, in order to make Recipes for tortoiseshell the imitation as correct as possible.6 Salmon presents four ways to imitate tortoiseshell. The recipes vary from complex mixtures and meth- They represent four different methods where the ods to more simple ones. Some are only semi-com- Colours: Binders & Solvents: Lacquers: Silver leaf, Ising-glass Size White Varnish (gum-Sandarack, Venice Turpentine, Flake white, or white Lead, Parchment Size Gum-Copal, Mastische, Benjamin, Gum-Elemi, white Rosin) Vine Black, Lampblack, Ivory-black Gum-water Seed-lac Varnish Cologne Earth, Collins Earth, Glue water Bernstein (amber) Sanguis Draconis, Cambogia, Water Gum uspal (?) Umber Size or Glair Gum Ammoniacum, Brown Pink Glue oil varnish Gum copal Tincture of Verdigrise Turpentine spirits Lacca Varnish Vermilion, Oil ground for gilding Common Varnish Auripigment, Tepentine Varnish Florentine lacquer, Kuglelak Marble, tortoiseshell, wood and other materials created in paint lacquer during the Baroque period Denmark Cinnaber Indian Lake, Lake Figure 1 List of all materials used in the early and later Danish Baroque recipes for the imitation of marble and tortoiseshell.