Taushing , notching - inlaid one metal with another, softer and having a lower melting point .
Taushing is a peculiar, very ancient technique of decorating bronze and steel products with precious metals . The technology was used to decorate art products, household items, weapons and military equipment : swords , daggers , shields , helmets , bracers , and later firearms . The essence of the process lies in the fact that the outer surface of the product is specially incised (hence the name) and stuffed with non-ferrous or precious metal wire (stripes, melt) in the form of a pattern or pattern. In some cases, this is the finest ornament of curls and stylized plants, in others - images of animals , birds or humans . Sometimes, inscriptions on metal, ornamented in one way or another, are carried out by the notch method.
Historically, the notch comes from ancient Greek chrysography - inlaid bronze items with gold and silver. The most ancient examples of chrysography belong to the ancient Egyptian and Cretan-Mycenaean culture.
From IX - XII centuries. The technique of the golden notch extends to iron and steel objects, and reaches its peak by the 17th century, which is confirmed by the remarkable monuments of ancient weapons stored in the State Armory of the Moscow Kremlin .
Content
Technology
When a notch is made on the surface of the base metal, grooves are made that are formed so that a softer metal can be embedded and forged into them. The artistic effect of the notch is to distinguish between the colors of the base and the forged metal. They form a single surface on the finished product, and it seems that the non-ferrous metal ornament is painted on the base metal. The material used for the notch has the following requirements:
- the tab and the base should have different, preferably contrasting, colors;
- the tab should be softer than the base.
The most successful results are obtained when silver or gold is tousled into steel . In addition, for notching on steel, copper , brass , cupronickel and aluminum can be used as inserts. It is also acceptable to use bronze or brass as a base, which can be decorated with silver or copper .
First, the ornament is drawn on paper in full size, and then transferred to the surface of the base metal. For guaranteed stability and high-quality fixation, the tab should expand downward, that is, in the section should have the shape of a trapezoid . The recess in the base metal should be of the same shape. Deepenings are created using various techniques.
- Engraving recesses with calms . The sharpened one-sided caliper, which is held slightly oblique, is applied according to the pattern of the recess. After the recess is cut with a bevel on one side, the other side is similarly cut. Thus, the recess has a dovetail shape in cross section.
- Engraving a recess with a chemical and electrochemical method. First, the surface of the base metal is engraved by standard chemical or electrochemical etching , after which the side walls are cut with a stylus so that the grooves have a trapezoidal cross section , and the product is ready for inlay with another metal.
- Cutting the recess with a chisel . To work, the chisel must be sharpened sharply; it is held between the thumb and the first two fingers and moved so that upon impact it goes forward with the working end. The resulting chips are removed. The chisel should produce a recess evenly, at the same depth. The resulting recess should have a square cross section, and the edges due to impacts should acquire a slight bulge. This bulge also holds the tab. To do this, a rough embossment is carried out along the edge of the vertical walls so as to compress the material and thereby increase the retention of the tab.
After that, strengthen the tab. For inlaying, a round wire is required, which in thickness corresponds to the width of the recess and slightly protrudes above its edges. In etched or mechanically engraved grooves that expand downward, the end of the wire is fixed to the end of the recess. It is fixed with a light blow of the hammer , then the wire is laid in the next section and again hit with a hammer. So, piece by piece, lay the wire until the pattern is filled along its entire length. The soft insertion metal as a result of hammer blows completely enters the recess and fills the trapezoidal groove without a gap . After inserting the wire, the drawing is once again compacted with a hammer, especially along the edges, in order to smooth out possible irregularities and guarantee a firm hold.
If the recesses are made with a chisel, proceed as follows: after the wire is laid in a groove in a small area, they pass through a rough embossing on the base metal on both sides next to the embedded wire. Due to this, the protrusions located at the edges of the recess are pressed to the tab on both sides. Then the base metal is again chased around the tab by embossing and finally the nested wire is pressed. After the pattern is completely filled with a tab, the surface of the product is ground and polished. If steel is used as the basis, then it is tinted in a blue-gray color. Sometimes a notch on the product is additionally cut with a blunt chisel. This operation gives the product a peculiar look.
In addition to notching with gold, silver and precious alloys, ordinary non-ferrous metals and their alloys are widely used. In particular, aluminum notch on steel looks very original. The aluminum wire holds well in the recess, is easily polished and forms a beautiful light pattern on a dark steel background, somewhat resembling a silver notch.
Notes
Literature
- Gorbunova T.G., Tishkin A.A., Khavrin S.V. Medieval horse equipment decorations in Altai: morphological analysis, manufacturing techniques, alloy composition . - Barnaul: Alphabet , AltSU , 2009 .-- 144 p. - ISBN 978-5-93957-366-5 .