Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1973, Page 16

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE TEXT
May Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son and the Hoiy Ghost,
who is overlord, creator and origin of all the arts in the world,
strengthen us with His mercy, so that we may all the more pray to
Him for what we need most, spiritually and corporally. With these
words an insignificant and unworthy person T. greets that lovable
man, brother Mag., praying, for the sake of the few words we have
had with one another, that you may not disdain this little letter,
and that it may help you to acquire some useful skill, for your soul’s
liealth, and hoping that you will pray for me.
If you wish to make an image elaborately, or an altarpiece, or a
tabulum, and all this is meant to be most carefully done with oil and
gold paint and gold, you should first make what you want of the
wood, after having dried it as well as possible. But where the wood
cracks or breaks, a wooden inlet should be inserted immediately,
and glued with strong glue. But when it is dry, a stiff size should
be made of glue with a little whiting, and this is called grey-plaster.
It should be as hot as possible. When it is completely dry, it should
be coated a second time, and this time the plaster should be weak
and thick. Then the third coat should be applied, and this time the
plaster should be weakest and thickest. In any further coats that
you apply, the plaster should be equally strong and equally thick.
It is then best to allow this plaster to dry for a long time before
adorning the image. Then you should smooth the work clean, as
evenly as possible, with a brass tool, and then rub it with the tail of
a piked dogfish everywhere, except(?) where silver is to be applied.
Then you should take hide-glue and make sticky varnish, heating
it so that it coagulates as little as possible, and with a paintbrush
wet the image with the varnish where you wish to apply silver.
Then you should take the silver with a knife and place it on parch-
ment, and from there onto the image, where you have already spread
the varnish. Take care that the varnish has not dried, but beware
also that you have not drowned the silver, such that pools of varnish
form in the garment folds of the image. Then, when it is dry, you
should burnish with a (skalri: smooth?) wolf’s tooth, or a large dog’s
tooth. And when it is well polished, you should dust it carefully with
a linen cloth. Then you should gooutside and let the sun heat the silver.
Then take a paintbrush and spread gold paint on the silver as thinly as