Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.2011, Blaðsíða 238

TIL VEGS OG VIRÐINGAR 237
Summary
Research on paint colour and buildings archaeology, together with informa-
tion from archival materials and old photographs has added new and im-
portant knowledge on part of Iceland’s built heritage. This research showed
that the ‘Smidshus’ was painted both inside and out just after construction.
This Reykjavík building was finished in the 1820’s, and despite its size was
a well-built high status house. It had several rooms with fine detailing and
was painted in the colours then fashionable in Denmark and Norway. All
paints used on the house were oil based, probably a mixture of linseed oil and
fish oil. On the exterior the builder did not use the cheaper pigments such
as ochre or iron oxides, but instead used the then three to six times more
expensive blue/white, mixed with organic black. The exterior was painted
according to the prevailing fashion to resemble sandstone or limestone. The
gray sandstone colours on the panels and the lighter tones around the win-
dows show that there was a desire to do something more with the colour
scheme than just protecting the panel and profile surfaces. The original
work was of a very good quality.
There is still some work to do on the exterior. The outer door needs
reconstruction and the first floor windows need elements replaced. Some in-
terior investigation still remains to be done. As a result of the international fi-
nancial crisis, which has hit Iceland particularly hard, the internal restoration
of the house has had to be postponed. The results of the investigations and
the other documentary evidence that has come to light give good grounds
for the ‘Smidshus’ to be, at some stage in the future, presented as it was when
it was first built in Reykjavík in 1825.