| The Treatises of Beauvenuto Cellini |
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| Written by Mephiston | Saturday, 29 August 2009 13:28 |
 The modern goldsmith can be considered to be encumbered by a wide variety of expensive tools in which to ply their trade; from expensive digital kilns that run into thousands of dollars to an oxy/acetylene setup to melt precious metals and the centrifugal casters that are used in conjunction. However, as we come to recognize that many of the techniques and tools that a modern metalsmith uses are not so different from that of a hundred years ago… or even a thousand years ago.
If we take the effort only to look back in time, techniques can be found and used in place of modern more expensive ones. “The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture” is a perfect example of how to look back and find techniques that had been in use during the 16th Century. Translated from the original 1568 volume by a C.R. Ashbee in the last part of the 19th Century (I am not sure of the exact date of the translation as the book in my possession does not give this data). Cellini goes into great detail on most all techniques that a goldsmith of his era would use, such as: Mixing and the application of Neillo, Filigree & Granulation and Enameling. Furthermore, he describes how to build furnaces, crucibles, casting techniques and the separation and refining of precious metals. For the metalsmith that wishes to use techniques that either mirror the medieval techniques or use techniques that will not cost them thousands of dollars, this Treatises is invaluable.Purchase this book online through Amazon, or take a look at the books contents with Google Books. |
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