ear-wax-msg - 10/3/00 Use of ear wax in period. NOTE: See also the files: urine-uses-msg, pigments-msg, calligraphy-msg, inks-msg, glues-msg, horn-msg, bone-msg, fur-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 02:34:23 -0500 (CDT) From: "Jack C. Thompson" To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Ear wax >> Cennini talks about the uses of ear wax. > >For what? From D.V. Thompson's _Materials of Medieval Painting_ : "The other important auxiliary addition to the main binding media in books is ear wax. When white of egg is first beaten, it becomes a froth. When this is allowed to stand, it distills into a clear liquid, glair. But if this liquid is very much disturbed as, for example, by grinding colours with it, it tends to get frothy again and to develp little air bubbles which make little holes in the mixtures after they dry. "Someone, somehow, discovered that adding a little ear wax would keep these bubbles from forming, presumably by changing the surface tension of the mixture. This curious bit of knowledge spread all over Europe, and affected the practice of illuminators everywhere. "Its chief importance was in tempering vermillion and in preparing gold grounds." Jack C. Thompson Thompson Conservation Laboratory Portland, OR 97217 Edited by Mark S. Harris ear-wax-msg Page 2 of 2