[Ko Baas]

I think this is the one.




Ko Baas

[Phil White]

Thanks, Clive,

Very interesting indeed!

There is a similar, perhaps slightly more ornate, piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY, here: Rosary bead

Phil

[fkvesic]

"I'd like to know more about how perfumes are created"

Probably the best scents for wood are the essential oils, of which there are dozens, ranging from the tree scents - juniper, cedar, sandalwood, tea tree - through the herb scents - sage, thyme, rosemary - to the flower scents - rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, etc. Add in the citrus scents and grasses, too. Alcohol-based perfumes would probably dry out wood too much. Also, alcohol perfumes are difficult to work with; scents are transient unless you fix them with something disgusting-smelling like civet or deer musk.

How to mix them? You have to develop what parfumiers call a "nose" for the right blend of ingredients, with deep, medium and light notes. Deep, underlying notes, which linger longest, can be created with something like a mixture of lavender and cypress; medium notes could be of the bergamot, rose, vetiver variety; light notes, which are the first to vanish, might be the citrus ones, orange blossom, lily of the valley, etc. The more earthy tones are likely to reside in the deep notes. The skill is to blend them into a complex that's reasonable to most people, while remembering that everyone smells a perfume differently. It takes years to develop the art, but is worth having a bash.

Another trick with netsuke, I'd assume, is to perfume the box you sell it in; the wood would pick up the perfume. It's often the reason why sandalwood boxes were carved to hold small objets d'art. I'd be loathe to try out the oils on bone or ivory in case they discoloured the surface, or ate into it.

[Doug Sanders]

Clive, here's another from the Met, and one from the Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio)

Attached image(s)

• 
• 

[Phil White]

I could stare at these all day. Thanks, Doug!

Phil

[Doug Sanders]

Clive- Have you seen a copy of the study you cite? If not, I'm sure I could get hold of one and send it to you. I've seen one or two more of these rosaries in books...I'll double check and if they differ from those posted, I'll try and get some scans up.

I think I'd have fun for hours just opening and closing those objects.

[Phil White]

Fantastic,

This is an amazing image. You can see the details of fabrication, and the tool marks left by the small gouges and chisels on the figures and in the recessed areas. I expected to see more evidence of scraping. Fantastic!

Thanks, Clive!

Phil

[Janel]

Thank you Clive,

I was secretly wishing that someone would provide a larger image ! (I happen to be at a WiFi with high speed connection, so today it is not such a problem.)

Has there been any revelation about the tools that were used by the carvers in those days?

Is there an outside part and an inside part created separately? Is there any evidence of the pieces being turned on a lathe to create the beginning shape?

Janel

[Doug Sanders]

Janel- I've got the full text of the article- it's 3 pages. I don't know if I can post it on the forum (copyright issues?), but I can email you a copy. Also, I found a book yesterday with three more prayer beads depicted. I'll try to get scans up shortly.
There is clear evidence that the hemispheres were turned first. The interior (figurative) portions are separate pieces, pegged to the outer shell. The top arch of the upper scene is also a separate piece.
Finally, some of the pikes and crosses will sculpted separately and inserted into drilled holes.

[Janel]

Hi Doug, thank you.

Yes, I would like to see the article, thanks for the offer. Your descriptions answer some questions that I had, too. I wonder if the arch at the top being separate has to do with the hinge or latch construction.

Janel

[Doug Sanders]

What the heck- here's the text.  A_note_on_medieval_microfabrication.doc (169.5K)
Number of downloads: 159

From the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, Vol 16, March 09 p.310-313

Enjoy!
Janel, as the authors surmise, the separate arch at the top of the scene may have been so carving tools and the tiny drill bit could gain access for undercutting.

[Doug Sanders]

Here are some scans as well as a Word document of the text accompanying them. It's all from the publication "Medieval Ivories and Works of Art / The Thompson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario", Cherry, J. and Lowden, J., 2008
The text was scanned and then run through a OCR system to convert it to a workable format, so there might be a few typos.

Looks like this collection is in your neck of the woods, Phil.

 carvingtext.doc (524K)
Number of downloads: 226

[Doug Sanders]

and the wooden ones:





I've got higher resolution scans of all of these if someone wants me to send a big file privately.

-Doug