Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/199

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
THE PREPARATION OF OBJECTS
169

clay in water and add a little lampblack. Experiments will soon show the exact proportions necessary, which will vary with the subject. Stir constantly and apply as evenly as possible. In some cases it will be necessary to stipple the surface. This makes a thin coating, easily wiped off, but as the dust settles upon it it becomes daily more stony in appearance. A glue size with bone-set has given fair results.

The firm of Gerber and Company of Cologne has made a specialty of coloring their casts, and do it very well for the most part. The suggestion of the original is very clear, although it may be questioned whether their color is accurate in all cases. Inaccuracy may be overlooked if the coloring is not very well done. When it is, it should be like the copy of an oil painting, just as close as a good artist can make it.

Mounting.—The "tiering machine," elsewhere described (see p. 158), is very valuable in determining the most desirable height for cast as well as original sculpture pedestals. For large casts, the pedestal should be about two or three inches wider on all sides than the base of the cast. Busts, especially life-size ones with a small base like those of Caesar, Socrates, etc., should, if possible, be shown upon a small shelf at a height that will bring the eyes at about the level of the