Golden Phoenix Scroll
The Finished Scroll
Time Used: 5 hours
Materials Used:
Stonehenge Aqua Cold Press paper in black (300 GSM, 100 lbs)
FineTec pearlescent watercolor paint
Dr.Martin's Iridescent Calligraphy Colors in 11R Copper Plate Gold
Pencil and eraser
Ruler
Fudebiyori pigment pen in white
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen in black
Prigma pigment pens in black and blue ink
Instacoll gilding kit
23 kt gold
Winsor & Newton Watercolor
Hand: Uncial
About the Design
I chose this design because I felt like this best suited the project and the recipient. When I was approached by Her Majesty for this project, I went out searching for suitable projects for this individual. During this time, I got to learn a lot about the recipient, her life, and her experiences as told by those close to her.
The recipient portrays a Song Dynasty (960-1279) persona in the SCA. I struggled a lot with finding a good inspiration for design because a lot of the extant I had access to were too degraded, or didn't visually appeal to me. As a person who also has a Chinese persona of the same era, it was never easy to find designs that were documentable. Oftentimes, designs that I thought were period, were really fantasy-based and used in modern cinema. It also did not help that a lot of the pieces from this era were locked behind a political firestorm being waged in China that affected access to these resources.
I dabbled in a lot of designs that ranged from a Chinese watercolor on a rolled scroll to embroidery and finally on this design. I chose not to use a Chinese watercolor design or an ink painting because I currently do not have the skill set or tools available to create one. I felt that I would have very limited success in completing the project if I attempted that.
I wanted to make something for her that her persona would probably use. I noticed that she had a lot of golden ornaments in her hair, so I chose a design from a pair of Ming dynasty (1368-1644) for her.
CORRECTION: I misunderstood that this recipient was Song dynasty (960-1279), she is Tang dynasty (618-906).
What's Up with Your Calligraphy?!
After consulting with my Peers and Her Majesty, I made the decision to write her scroll text in Uncial (1) rather than in traditional Chinese calligraphy or a faux hand. I chose to use Uncial because it is likely that her persona would have encountered that hand through the Silk Road.
I made this decision because of numerous concerns being raised in the scribal community that the use of faux hands was racist and offensive. Personally, I've received scrolls with both faux Chinese and block lettering. Out of the two, I appreciated the scroll written in block letters because it was easier for me to read and understand. While my faux Chinese hand scroll was very beautiful and sits in a place of pride in my display cabinet, it is still difficult to read and I have no idea what it says. For me, the wording on the scroll carries as much value as the artwork on the scroll.
For a lot more information on Chinese calligraphy and stone rubbings, you can click here
The Extant
Pair of Gold Hairpins in Phoenix Shape 金鳳簪, gold, mid-16th century. Overall (each): 9 13/16 × 2 13/16 × 9/16 in., 0.3 lb. (25 × 7.1 × 1.5 cm, 0.1 kg).
On loan from the Hubei Provincial Museum, P.R. China © Hubei Provincial Museum
Found at http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2015/11/04/32881337.html
The Variations and Similarities in Designs of the Phoenix
I've included an extant of a Song Dynasty (960-1279) crown featuring phoenixes. Note the similarities and variations between the designs of the two eras. Overall, I felt that there was not too big of a stylistic variation between the two:
The Song Dynasty phoenix is in flight, the one that I used is standing on a cloud
Both phoenixes are supposed to have legs, except the bird in flight has theirs hidden from view
Both birds feature feathers shaped like rows of overlapping lamellar-like scales instead of random feathers
The facial structures of the birds look similar
The tail features of both birds are similar in appearance; they have a central "vein" where the spines branch off of it on only one side rather than in both directions
Song dynasty phoenix has a larger beak, the Ming dynasty phoenix has a smaller beak with a ring through it
Song Dynasty Phoenix Crown
Photographs of crown can be seen at https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-song-dynasty-pure-gold-phoenix-crown-16-c-bc0453b89a
Scroll Words by Wol Bi(2)
Among flowers, Yuchi Meili stands in Atlantia's Hall before Afhin and Yasmin, Rulers standing proudly tall, award arms presenting, heeding people's cheerful call as our custom so dictates following our protocol done at Crown Tourney on May AS 57.
Applying Instacoll and Gilding
I apologize that I didn't take any photos of the initial steps. I found it impossible to photograph the pencil sketching stage because of the black paper. I didn't photograph the application of the Instacoll or gilding because humidity levels were high, and I wanted to take advantage of it and apply the gold before the weather changed.
I used raised gilding for this project, and polished it with glacine paper.
My Sample Swatch
I created this to help me figure out how each paint would look on the paper.
Comparing Color Palette to the Paper
I played a lot with colors for this piece to figure out what paints would look best with the raised gilding.
Choosing a Complementary Gold Color
Choosing the right color gold was the hardest part of this piece. Gold comes in different shades that range from orange-based to straw yellow, and pink and white. I ran several tests on sample paper to see what shades of gold worked best for this project. When I was finished, I took this photo to share it with another scribe.
In Progress Shot
Every so often, I like to post progress photos on Social Media when I feel that something is missing from my project. When I do that, I cover up any names or identifying features to keep the project from being leaked by accident.
I left the pencil lines in place instead of erasing it. The pencil lines are so faint that they wouldn't be visible, if the viewer is looking at the scroll from 3-5 feet away. You can't see if unless you're looking at the scroll closer than 10 inches away from it.
Adding More Texture
A major piece of feedback that I received from the scribal community was that I didn't have enough texture in the piece. I needed to add more light and shadow. I did this by adding more cross-hatching to the piece. I added more cross-hatching in the areas of the feathers and also added a thin layer of watercolor over top.
This worked well for the project because the watercolor blended really well with my Finetec paint. Both were water-soluble, so it created a very nice effect.
Departures from Period Technique
Chinese scrolls were not commonly written on black paper
Traditional scrolls in China were typically written on white or red paper, but rubbings were common. This was accomplished by taking a piece of paper, placing it over top of the stone calligraphy, and rubbing charcoal over it. The newly created rubbing would then be put on display like a work of art.
I wanted this project to look like the museum photo with the golden hairpin floating in the air in front of a black backdrop and the calligraphy to compliment it. I think that I accomplished that and achieved the visual aesthetic that I was looking for.
I didn't add my Chinese calligrapher's seal to the piece
Whenever I do a Chinese/Korean/ Japanese scroll, I add my scribal seal to it because this was common practice in the period. I wasn't able to do it for this project because of the black paper.
Upon further reflection, I should have just added a red, wax seal to it and then used my scribe seal over top. I didn't learn this technique until much later on, after I had sent this scroll in to be given away.
The scroll text was written in Uncial, not traditional Chinese, Chinese cuneiform or nushu which would have been period
See the above text under the area for "what's going on with your calligraphy?!"
Uncial is one of my stronger hands
I am not very good at writing in traditional Chinese, this is a skill that I have not yet mastered. Traditional Chinese calligraphy has thousands of characters in it, and I'm not well-versed enough in it to be comfortable attempting to do the calligraphy
Chinese cuneiform is an ancient and dead language, I could have done this, but there are no native speakers for this. There are also thousands of characters for this, and I will need to find a way to translate this
Nushu(3) also has very few speakers, and few extents of this writing style remain for me to attempt to replicate
Use of modern pigment pens
This gave me more control over my pen and a more steady flow of ink over other tools
Cross-hatching was used
Cross-hatching is used in Chinese art, but to create textures such as scales for a fish and the body of a serpent, and not as I used it. I used cross-hatching to establish shadows and accentuate contours. This is a post-period technique that I used to achieve the results that I wanted.
23 kt gold was used instead of 24 kt gold
Traditional Chinese gilding would have used 24kt gold. I used 23kt gold because it's not possible for the human eye to distinguish between 23kt and 24kt gold, but the cost is higher for 24kt. I used 23kt gold because it was cheaper.
What I Learned
How to make and use footnotes on this webpage!!!
I played around with different types of black paper to see what textures I liked
I made some sample sheets with the various pigments I used as a study guide for making this project
In hindsight: photograph the scroll with raised gold work at different angles. It looks a lot nicer
In hindsight: I used the wrong dynasty for the recipient, I believed that they were Song dynasty. I misunderstood and found out that they were Tang dynasty persona. Since this is in hindsight, there is not much I can do other than apologize.
(2) The wordsmith responsible for these words had sent me documentation for it. It is based on a Ming Dynasty poem. Unfortunately, we both have misplaced where we put the documentation.(3) Nushu was referred to as the "secret language of women" in China. Read more about it here: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/how-do-modern-women-in-china-keep-the-secret-nushu-language-tradition-alive/#:~:text=As%20a%20secret%20text%2C%20N%C3%BCshu,the%20face%20of%20daily%20struggles.