26 February 2013

Marbled Paper

Hand marbled paper designs by Jemma Lewis in Wiltshire.
To see more of Ms. Lewis' beautiful work, click here.

Marbled paper designs by Leah of Art on Water in Ottawa.
To see more of Leah's wonderful work, click here.

One of the joys of running our bindery is working with exquisitely handmade papers like those shown above. There are very few artists who choose to work in this medium in the traditional way, as it requires a great deal of study and practice to achieve results as exquisite and consistent as those pictured here. Each sheet of marbled paper is unique, and while it's made according to traditional patterns and methods, it bears the signature mark of its maker. 

Marbled paper has a history as intricate and involved as its color patterns. According to Wikipedia,  "墨流し suminagashi, which means "floating ink" in Japanese is the oldest method of decorative paper made with floating colors that is known today. Author Einen Miura states that the oldest reference to suminagashi papers are in the waka poems of Shigeharu, (825-880 CE)."

A fan-shaped booklet of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 8, 12th century Japan, with suminagashi decoration.
Via Wikipedia.

As long ago as 986 CE, a process of aqueous surface printing was described in a Chinese compilation  entitled 文房四谱 Wen Fang Si Pu or "Four Treasures of the Scholar's Study" edited by the 10th century scholar-official, 蘇易簡 Su Yijian (957-995 CE). 

In the fifteenth century, artisans in Central Asia developed a technique of floating inks on the surface of a viscous liquid made using various plant materials. Workshops in Safavid Persia, Ottoman Turkey and the Mughal and Deccan Sultanates in India produced  beautiful designs, but it's unknown whether these artisans were aware of the Chinese and Japanese techniques that preceded them. 

A verse from the Qur'an (14:7), written on marbled paper, consistent with other examples
from around the16th century. Via Wikipedia.

Two hundred years later, Europeans travelled to Central Asia and collected examples of these papers and bound in books, forming alba amicorum, or books of friendship-- can you imagine how impressive it must have been for these lucky few to see and collect such beautiful papers? Eventually, the techniques for producing the beautiful marbled designs arrived in Europe, where they were produced for use in book covers and end papers, just as we use them today. 

Tools of the trade: from l'Encyclopedie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Vol. IV p. 275-6 (1768).

                                                             Via Wikipedia.

For me, the most interesting thing about these papers is their seemingly magical manufacture, so I invite you to enjoy these short videos, chronicling some very talented marbling artists from around the world. The first is a short history of the various techniques described above, and the following videos feature three very different but equally talented artists at work.  

                                          







10 comments:

  1. Hello Erika, These marbleized papers are indeed wonderful, having something of the fascination of a kaleidoscope with their endless colors and patterns. They are reminiscent of artificial wood-graining in architecture, but more brilliant because end papers don't have to be as restrained as doors or picture frames.

    Once, when a bunch of old, damaged books was about to be dumped, I recall "rescuing" the marbleized end papers, thinking they were too beautiful to be thrown out, and could be used for something. I wonder if they are still someplace?
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. Dear Jim,
      Thank you for your message-- these papers really are kaleidoscopic, aren't they? As a fellow rescuer of books, I would have been right there with you saving those books from the trash. If you ever come across your rescued papers, I'd be more than happy to make ribboned bookmarks out of them for you-- a happy end for such papers, I would think!
      Warm regards,
      Erika

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  2. Dear Erika,

    Thank you for this informative and wonderful post. I've always loved marbled paper, and in fact when I went to Florence several years back, marbled paper was my biggest purchase and souvenir. To piggyback on Jim's comment, I would add that I chose similar papers of more sublte patterns with the thought that they would make excellent back matting for antique prints or photographs.

    For all my love of these papers, I didn't know proper names, like "ebru," and now I know that one of my faavorite patterns is Spanish in style. Thanks again!

    Best wishes, Mark

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    1. Dear Mark,
      Thank you for your message-- Florence really is a paper lover's dream, isn't it? I have been a longtime admirer of the Italian tradition, but, in assembling this post, am now equally fascinated by the traditions in Turkey and Japan. How wonderful to examine the ways an art form "morphs" across the planet!
      Warm regards,
      Erika

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  3. Dear Erika - I am reminded of when I was at school and we had an enthusiastic teacher who taught us marbling. It is such a satisfying procedure to do with its almost instant gratification.
    I shall watch out for Jemma's work, I find her colour combinations very pleasing, and she doesn't live too far from me.
    A lovely post Erika.

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    1. Dear Rosemary,
      Thank you for your comments! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed learning about Jemma's work and do hope that you get a chance to meet one day. You're lucky to be so close to such an artist-- sadly, I'll have to rely on the internet to do my paper shopping in Wiltshire and Ottawa!
      Warm regards,
      Erika

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  4. Dear Erika,
    What an interesting post!
    One of the pleasures of buying old books is to open them and find wonderful marbled paper inside the covers.
    Some of the new books I buy have marbling as well.
    I am also impressed by Jemma Lewis' work - It is good to see that people are maintaining these crafts.
    Bye for now
    Kirk

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    1. Dear Kirk,
      Thank you for your message. Finding these papers in antique books is always such a treat! I admire the skill of those binders who marble the page edges as well-- can you imagine the stress of marbling the edges of a text block you've so painstakingly sewn together??!! I'm glad to hear that publishers are reintroducing marbled end papers-- I do hope that they're handmade ones like those so beautifully made by Jemma and Leah. I can't wait to work with their papers, but I fear it will be difficult to make the first cut!
      Warm regards,
      Erika

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  5. Dear Erika, I have watched artists marbling paper in Florence. It is a fascinating art form. An easy way to marbleize paper is to use Floetrol (paint conditioner) with acrylic paints and torn cardpaper as the artist brush.
    Thank you also for including these wonderful videos.
    ox, Gina

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    1. Dear Gina,
      Thank you for your kind words! Isn't it one of the classic treats to see the Italian paper "marblers" in action in Florence?! Such wonderful talent at work... I've never made an attempt at marbling: I have the tendency to become enamored with such art forms, and so, for my own protection, and to stay focused on my work in the bindery, I've avoided it! But if I succumb to temptation, I'll try your way first...!
      Warm regards,
      Erika

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