Item: Laurel Scroll for Boiarynia Ceara of Novogrod
Artist: Cyneswith the Quiet
Period: Kievan Rus
Source: Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, Russia.
Materials: Pine, Fish Glue, Copper-colored Aluminum, Copper, Gypsum, Egg tempera, Gold leaf, Glass, Steel
Boiarynia Ceara of Novogrod is a meticulous, multi-talented period-mavin, whose persona hails from Kievan Rus Novgorod. I was honored to be asked to make her scroll.
While the first challenge of researching most scrolls is digging up applicable sources, the first challenge of researching Kievan Rus Novgorod is narrowing down the sources. It is rich and fascinating, and I understand Ceara’s passion for it.
The Cathedral of St. Sophia was exactly the inspiration I was looking for, being a multi-faceted but cohesive source. The crisp white walls, the ornate bronze Magdeburg gate, and the walls covered in gilded paintings were the primary elements I wanted to capture. I also wanted to include Novgorod-style mosaics, but I did not have time to make molds or learn enameling, so I made do with glass - glass that Ceara had brought to me herself.
The base is 1x11.5 inch pine, cut to 26 inches, then sanded. I covered the front of the board with a gesso of gypsum, fish glue, sage honey, and titanium dioxide (I chose the honey because I could tell Ceara exactly what type it was and, well, it's not my favorite in terms of flavor). Chalk would have been the preferred pigment in period, but titanium dioxide is what I keep on hand, and I did not have time to delay initial preparation.
The Laurel wreath is made of glass and steel, with some copper-colored enamel paint on top of the steel. While I have not found this sort of glass pattern in period, period glass of the appropriate color was not available during construction - and Ceara herself had delivered appropriately colored glass. I applied a thin layer of un-ground gesso, placed the pieces, applied a second layer of un-ground gesso and let it cure. I applied the copper edging, then applied a third layer of fully-processed gesso, then cleaned the glass.
The Magdeburg Gate portion of the scroll is primarily made of copper-colored aluminum. All pieces are repousseed and attached with fish glue. The edging and cross beam repoussee are attached to copper piping to help keep their shape. Plaids, weaving patterns, and buttercups were used as cross beam motifs, with laurel leaves and buttercups on edge pieces. Flat pieces include portraiture, spinning, cooking, Atlantia and Northshield, buttercups, and a reference to the friendships Ceara has in the SCA, as well as the scroll text. The flat pieces are nailed with tiny brass nails, and the cross beams are re-inforced with E-6000 glue. Bronze would have been the period option, but I could not find bronze of the appropriate weight within the time constraints - and copper seemed to suit Ceara better than pewter. In future, I will consider electroplating if the appropriate color cannot be found.
The painted portion of the scroll, based on a contemporary portrait of Gabriel, was covered in a layer a well-processed gesso, pigmented with Italian yellow earth pigment. The gilding was fish glue and 23K gold leaf. The paint was egg tempera made from Dorking chicken eggs. Black pigment was homemade using linseed oil and linen wick. Indian red, indigo, Italian yellow earth, Nicosia green, titanium dioxide, and alizarin crimson pigments were purchased commercially.
Bag was handsewn with cotton and handspun linen, but no sources were referenced.
Baroness Machteld Cleine provided a persona-appropriate poem for the text.
“I help like cats!” says Ceara of Novgorod
as she reaches out a hand and weaves a story, carves it out of bone, dyes it in strength, sews it together with kindness.
Submerged in knowledge, deep and wide.
Fierce Friend.
Trusted Teacher.
Dedicated Dyer.
She, whose skill is savored and saluted.
Carver and caster
Ceara of Novogrod,
Laurel Everlasting.
Loved
King Eckehard and Queen Jane of Atlantia honor the will of their Order of the Laurel and induct Ceara of Novogrod into the Order of the Laurel and award her a Patent of Arms
Done this 6th of September, A.S. 56 at our Sacred Stone’s Baronial Birthday
Scroll by Cyneswith the Quiet
Words by Baroness Machteld Cleine