2020 Essays

Painting in Oil on Taffeta Without the Oil Running

Bowen, Marilyn; Lou, Tianhe

A recipe on fol. 10v, “For painting in oil on taffeta without the oil running,” advises using batture, a vaguely described priming material, to mitigate the halo-like spread of oil from its pigment when applying oil paint to taffeta. This essay investigates the efficacy of batture, a mixture of strong glue, water, and honey, as well as the role of its various components. Artisanal recipes and our reconstruction experiments suggest that the honey functions to “soften” (adoulcir) the taffeta, that is, allow the primed taffeta to dry flat rather than crease and curl under the effect of the strong glue in the batture. This recipe belongs among those entries in Ms. Fr. 640 that attest to the author-practitioner’s interest in ornamenting fabric and in the production of ephemeral works meant for short-lived, all-weather use, such as banners and pennants.