Dacian car flag

Atelierul de istorie has added, upon request, a new product to its history-inspired portfolio: a small car flag with the ancient Dacian draco standard - black on white background. The flag is resistant to weather conditions and comes with a plastic support for your car's window. The flag can be adapted to one's motorcycle as well, though special metal stands must be obtained elsewhere.

See all novelties HERE. 

Car flag with the Dacian draco

Folded car/motorcycle Dacian flags

The motif is original, reproduced after a large-size, two-piece linocut print of the draco, inspired by depictions on ancient Roman monuments such as Trajan's Column.

Original draco depiction by Ana-Maria Gruia for Atelierul de istorie

 

Linocut and golden foil draco painting

Another painting inspired by the ancient Dacian history has been sold by my online shop, Atelierul de istorie. It is a sofa-size painting depicting the Dacian war standard, the half wold half serpent dragon that the Romans called draco. It is a highly decorative, even Art Nouveau-like work, with the main motif as linocut print, glued onto canvas, and the background with golden foil. In order to confer the foil more radiance, underneath I have applied a layer of red acrylic paint, and a black painted acrylic frame renders no need for an actual frame. Here is the painting in context.

See the item page HERE. 

Another variant, smaller size, HERE. 

 

Marin Gruia - painting in progress

My father, Marin Gruia of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, is one of the established painters of the city and of Transylvania, with his classical, sensitive style of painting flowers and landscapes, mostly oil on canvas. He has taken steps lately in going a bit beyond his usual style, experimenting with textures, colors, and techniques. The following series of pictures illustrate this process, exemplified on another "Flowers" painting - working his way out of the background and into the details in the foreground - the flowers, the vase, and the signature.

See his paintings available on ETSY.

Background - by Marin Gruia

Flowers - by Marin Gruia

Flowers and vase - by Marin Gruia

Signed and finished - by Marin Gruia

 

Tooled leather keychain

I have recently posted pictures of this tooled veg tan leather key chain in a leather craft group on Facebook and I got comments that the model was stamped, not tooled by hand. This was in fact flattering, considering the decoration looked so even and good, but still I felt the need to reveal the process for clarification. So here are illustrations of the working stages, from form cutting, to drawing tracing, incision, tooling, fine cuts making and dyeing, all made by hand. The product is available on our website, Atelierul de istorie, and the decorative model is inspired by ancient history, aka the Draco war standard of the Dacians.

For intense comments feel free to join out Facebook handmade leather craft group, Marochinarie artizanala (Romanian mostly, but not exclusively), with 182 members so far.

Draco leather key chain

Handmade tooled leather project

Leather project by Atelierul de istorie

Goddess Gruia - my first linocuts

I started experimenting with linocut printing in 2007, during an art camp in Calimanesti, Romania. I used the most basic, low-quality, Communist linoleum still available on the market and an old spoon for printing, but found the effects and process fascinating from the very beginning. Not to mention that it was fast enough for my desire of quick results :) Applying the ink with my fingers (in lack of a roller) was also convenient for allow more variation, increased color effects, and the convenient Epreuve d'artiste - no numbering necessary system :))

Here are some of my initial works, medieval in inspiration.

See my current works available on Etsy HERE.

"Matthias House" linocut print inspired by the old city centre of Cluj-Napoca, Romania - by Ana-Maria Gruia

"Urbanscape" lincout inspired by medieval architecture in Krems an der Donau, Austria - by Ana-Maria Gruia

"Holy women"lincout inspired by the medieval iconography of holy women - by Ana-Maria Gruia

"The entrance of the Virgin into the Temple" Biblical linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

"Tailors' Bastion" linocut of one of the historical monuments in Cluj - by Ana-Maria Gruia

"Urban landscape" inspired by Slovenia - Ana-Maria Gruia

Alchemical confusions in pharmacy II

Another confusion born out of the adoption of alchemical terms in late medieval and early modern pharmacy relates to the troublesome use of multiple names for the same apothecary product or of the same name for several products.

Among the solutions with multiple names one can mention for example Potassium acetate (the potassium salt of the acetic acid)that was referred to as either "terra foliata tartari", "sal Sennerti" (Sennert's salt), "tartarus regeneratus", "arcanum tartari" (alchemical), or "sal diureticus". These terms refer to the product's properties, alchemical value or the name of a person who prepared it.

Dissertatio medico-chymica inauguralis, de arcano Tartari, seu terra foliata Tartari, etc Johann Heinrich RAHN, 1732 There were also no less confusing cases of solutions with the same name: §  aqua fortis =  concentrated azotic acid, wine spirit, concentrated soda solution §  lapis infernalis = all caustic substances §  nitrum =  saltpeter, talcum, borate of soda, potassium azotate §  chrysocolla = copper alloy, borate of soda Discover more on the topic by visiting the "Pharmacy and alchemy" temporary exhibition at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca. See also previous blog posts on the topic here: Alchemy and iatrochemistry in Early Modern pharmacy Alchemical laboratory tools in the old pharmacies Alchemy and pharmacy interferences Alchemical confusions in pharmacy: BLACK/NIGREDO

Handmade leather ROTA ancient Roman board game

Reenactment groups dealing with the Roman Empire often reconstruct easy aspects of daily life, such as games and entertainment. Board games are well attested in Roman society in particular, as such inscribed boards have even been found carved in the stones of the forum. ROTA is the most popular, simple yet tricky game. The name is the Latin for "wheel", due to its round, spiked shape.

Making a rota board is quite easy - all one needs is a round piece of timber or leather and six game pieces. My variant is made out of leather, hand cut and sewed, and blue and transparent glass pieces. The  "board" can easily turn into a pouch with the aid of perimetral perforations and leather cord. This leather ROTA is available at atelieruldeistore.ro 

Read about the rules HERE.

Rota leather pouch

Rota board and game pieces

Detail - ancient Roman rota game

Alchemical confusions in pharmacy: BLACK/NIGREDO

The adoption of alchemical terminology in the field of apothecary has also led to numerous confusions, completely settled only in the end of the nineteenth century.

One example related to the concept of BLACK or Nigredo.

Oleum petrae nigrum, literally "black rock oil", designates in the field of apothecary black petroleum, a sticky and foul smelling substance. In pharmacy, where the alchemical symbol of oil has been preserved (three circles in a triangle pattern, symbolizing three stacked stones), the substance is liquid bitumen from the region of Germany, recommended against scabies, menstruation problems, hysteria, fever, toothaches, parasites etc, and it was mainly for external use.
Still, nigredo was also the first stage of alchemical transformation, the process of putrefaction or decomposition, starting from the so-called black stone. In alchemy, all processes / transmutations of matter started from the raw matter, the black stone, assimilated to Saturn and lead. The foul smell and dark color of the apothecary substance might have also stressed the resemblance with the alchemical process in question.

Painted signature of an apothecary jar preserved at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca: OL(eum) Petrae Nigr(um) - Black rock oil.

Alchemical and apothecary symbol for oil.

Alchemical engraving depicting Putrefactio or Nigredo

Discover more connections and differences between the two late medieval/early modern sciences by visiting the Pharmacy and Alchemy (Farmacie si Alchimie) temporary exhibition at the History of Pharmacy Museum in Cluj-Napoca, in Unirii Square no. 28.