My projects have steadily progressed from early works where I was familiarizing myself with burning techniques to the re-creation of a sample of period pyrography (at left) using flame-heated tools.
Pyrography comes from the Greek "pyr+graphos" meaning "fire-drawing". Webster's Dictionary describes it as the "process or art of producing designs on wood, leather, or other materials by using heated tools or a fine flame."
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My study of Western European period pyrography (pre-1600) began in February 2003 as part of my Arts & Sciences research in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Period pyrography is not well documented and, as far as I know, recreating pyrography using period methods is rare, even within the SCA. This has made it an exciting adventure of discovery because each tidbit of research has been a precious jewel. My projects have steadily progressed from early works where I was familiarizing myself with burning techniques to the re-creation of a sample of period pyrography (at left) using flame-heated tools. |
First-century "fire-etched" Peruvian artifacts exist which show that the tools and technology to burn designs was available pre-1600. The earliest example of pyrography I've located dates from 0-700 A.D. It is pictured in the article Antique Pyrography by Kathleen Menendez.
Surviving examples of Western European pyrography from the 15th and 16th centuries include decorative designs on musical instruments such as the Trinity and Queen Mary harps and richly ornamented chests, coffers and panels from the 15th and 16th centuries. The Queen Mary harp currently resides in Scotland and the Trinity harp in Ireland. The pyrographic designs are faint and the pigments faded. To get an idea how they might have looked in their "former glory", I recommend taking a look at the beautiful recreation of the Trinity created by harpmaker, Jay Witcher. (You'll need to scroll down the page to see it).
 Queen Mary |
 Trinity |
| My favorite example of period pyrography is an Italian bridal chest or "cassone", dated c. 1415-1430. It currently resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum.(8x10 b&w photos of two chests, #48-1882 and #80-1864, with period pyrography available from V&A for £12 per picture). I was excited to find this chest because it has human figures and allegorical scenes (i.e. it presents a wider range of artistic possibility than simple decoration). Curator James Yorke wrote an interesting article about this chest entitled "Engraved Decoration on Early Fifteenth-century Italian Furniture" (June 1989 edition of Apollo). The chest is densely covered with pyroengraved designs and reflects Italian, German, Oriental and Byzantine influences. |
 My rendition of a figure from this chest. |
Several other examples of pyroengraved panels on chests are pictured in an 1896 article "Burnt Wood in Decoration" by J. William Fosdick, a talented Victorian pyrographer.
It is not known exactly what implement(s) were used to perform pyrography pre-1600. I consulted with James Yorke who wrote to say "there is no contemporary treatise on the subject and I strongly suspect that it all lay in the realm of trade secrets."1 He added that one hypothesis is the use of heated needles but that it's still a matter of debate among his colleagues.
Relief burning tools are described in the Dictionary of Woodworking Tools, c. 1700-1970 as "metal rods known as 'points' with flat, claw- or horn-shaped ends, fitted to cork-covered handles to protect the hands. The points were heated in flame and then applied to the wood surface".2
Fosdick mentions craftsmen of "former times" using copper in the shape of a soldering iron with a non-conducting handle being heated in a fire by bellows. Soldering irons were used in stained glass work, as described by the German monk, Theophilus, in "An Essay Upon Diverse Arts", c. 1125. "Now you should have a soldering iron which is long and thin, with a slender point, filed and tinned. Put this into the fire. Meanwhile (pour wax on) the tin sticks. Pick up the hot iron and, wherever two pieces of lead meet, touch the tin to it and smear them with the iron until they stick to each other."
I found no exact description of any tool used for pyrography that's a "sure thing" and agree with Yorke that it appears to be a matter of conjecture. It seems reasonable to me that woodburning tools would have come in several shapes as the shape and thickness of the metal would be important in achieving various techniques of line and shade.
Period pyrographers needed to maintain a source of constant heat adequate for the heating of their implements. They also had to compensate for the rapid cooling of the metal once the tool was removed from the fire. In his treatise on pyrography , Fosdick described advances in the craft, noting that the "fire-etcher" of pre-Victorian times used a rude forge and hand-bellows and the "shifting" of the tools due to rapid cooling.3 This shifting, or rotation, of more than one tool through the fire allowed the pyrographer to exchange a cooled implement for a hot one as he worked. Once the heated tool was applied to the wood, he would then take into account the temperature of the metal, the hardness of the wood and the direction of the wood grain.
The shape of the tools, amount of pressure applied, and the speed at which the tool is moved across the wood all work together to achieve varied effects such as the darkness and thickness of the line, areas of shading, and other artistic effects.
Artwork on wooden panels was widespread across Europe and wood used included poplar, oak, pine, silver fur, linden, beech and chestnut.4 The "pirografata" (as pyrography was called in Italy) on Italian bridal chests was typically performed on cypress or cembra-pine.5 The Queen Mary and Trinity harps are made of willow and oak.6 I have chosen my woods based on their light color and lack of defined grain or knots. Typically, my panels are made of Italian Poplar or birch and my boxes are made of linden (basswood). A good source for small boxes is the Colwood Company site. For wooden panels of various pre-cut sizes suitable for framing, I recommend Nedra's Pyrography and Sawdust Connection.
Infrared photography has revealed that period painters created underdrawings prior to painting using charcoal, chalk, ink and paint. A technique of transferring a design on paper to wood, canvas, plaster and cloth was called "pouncing". The artist would create a sketch on paper, called a "cartoon", which would then be laid upon the surface to be worked. Holes were punched through the paper with a needle and then patted with charcoal dust, leaving a series of dots on the surface showing the outline.7 These techniques would have been available to the period pyrographer.
Not all examples of period pyrography include the use of color. Yorke writes that chests with pyrography and ink decoration were widely exported. He also describes the application of "such pigments as verdigris mixed with chalk, and vermilion, in the folds of the garments".8 Egg tempura-based pigments were used on wood prior to 1500 and oil paint came into use around that time. The Trinity and Queen Mary harps were painted with egg tempura paints which have since faded.
The majority of my projects were created using an electric woodburning tool while I worked to discover a small workable heat source I could easily and safely use indoors and at SCA events, i.e. something I could set up on a table. I experimented with a candle flame, heating various metal items; a disecting needle, nails, a screwdriver, dental tool, and a fireplace poker.
The candle brought the smaller implements to a red-hot heat (which cooled very rapidly) and left the metal coated with thick dark soot. The burned line was very faint and the black sooty matter smudged the wood, marring the design. I tried hot coals in a small metal furnace but, disappointingly, the glowing red coals failed to heat the metal to the point where a burned line could be achieved. Working with charcoal also presented a carbon dioxide hazard if used indoors. Later consultation with a blacksmith included a discussion about the heat of charcoal being related to the density of the wood from which it was made. He was enthusiastic about making one's own charcoal from hardwoods but I wasn't interested in taking it that far!
I plan to experiment with an alcohol lamp (oil lamps are sooty) though I have been unable to find documentation of its use pre-1600. For now, in order to experience fire as a heat source, I use the flames of the burner on my gas stove.
Of the various flame-heated tools I have experimented with, a dissecting needle (a slender rod of metal set in a wooden handle) heated quickly and drew a fine line. I found that using one needle was very slow because the metal cooled after a line of about 1/4" was burned into the wood. Because of the need to keep re-heating the needle, the burning time markedly increased compared to a modern woodburning tool (i.e. a 1 1/2 hour burning project increased to approximately five hours). Working with two needles, and rotating them through the fire, sped up the process considerably but the metal was much hotter and the chance of burning too darkly or deeply became a problem. Learning to judge the right "color" of the metal (gauging its fade from red-hot to cool) helped to ameliorate this problem. It may be that a thicker shaft of metal (a suggestion from the blacksmith) would hold the heat longer.
Another issue with the needles was that the drawing end of the needle was much farther away from my fingertips than a modern drawing implement. This helped protect my fingers when the needle was in the fire but impaired my accuracy when doing the burning. Because it was harder to control, the needle was also more likely to slip and follow the grain of the wood (instead of the design) unless great care was taken.
All images used in my projects were drawn from period art. I found the easiest way to scale them to the size of my finished surface was to scan them on the computer, resize them and print out the "cartoon". I sandwich a sheet of graphite paper (similar to carbon paper but coated in graphite) between the image and my wooden surface and then trace the main outlines and shapes with a metal point. The shading and detail I would add by eye when woodburning, referring to the copy of the picture kept close at hand.
For color, I've used oil paint or colored pencil. For non-period projects, I've use acrylics. I have not used a binding substance such as gesso to prepare the wood because I want the grain and the burned lines to be visible. If too thinly diluted the colors have a propensity to bleed so I have begun to use sanding sealer on the wood between the burning and painting phases. It's been suggested that I try watercolor as the oil paint tends to obscure the pyrography. This is an area for further experimentation.
A modern woodburning tool is essentially a stylus with a metal tip that is heated via electricity. The advantage of electricity is that there is a constant source of heat flowing to the drawing tip. This allows the pyrographer to more easily create a wide range of "shades" (consistent burned lines ranging from light to dark). As with the flame-heated tool, use of the electric stylus requires the ability to judge the appropriate temperature to prevent the wood from being scorched and blackened.
The electric stylus is subject to heat dissipation (cooling) when the tip is drawn across the wood so, like the period pyrographer, development of the appropriate techniques of pressure, temperature, and drawing speed are required to achieve a range of effects.
I believe that recreating the flame-heated method allows one to more greatly appreciate the techniques and challenges inherent in the period method. That said, the electric stylus can reproduce the look and feel of a period piece if the artist studies examples from period and chooses metal tips to achieve the same effects.
I was glad my research supported pyrography as a period practice. Surviving examples of pyrography are few, especially when compared with painted and carved works of the period. It's possible that pyrography was typically used on items for everyday use rather than "art" and so the preservation of such items was not typical. It may be that it was simply not common, i.e. taken to the level of the chest located at the Victoria and Albert museum, as it would have been exceptionally difficult and time-consuming with little room for error.
I was particularly excited by the variety of art and influences reflected in the pyrography on Renaissance chests. I feel that these examples open wide the realm of period art as subject matter for pyrographic recreation.
1Correspondence with James Yorke, Curator, Victoria and Albert Museum. Feburary 10, 2003.
2Salaman, R.A. Dictionary of Woodworking Tools, c. 1700-1970 and Tools of Allied Trades. Taunton Press, Inc. 63 S. Main Street, Newton, CT 06470 USA Reprint Sept. 1990
3Fosdick, J. William, "Burnt Wood in Decoration", pp. 495-500, The Century, Volume 52, Issue 4, The Century Company, New York, August 1896
4 Becket, Sister Wendy, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. The Story of Painting. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc. 95 Madison Avenue 1994
5 Yorke, James. "Engraved Decoration on Early Fifteenth-century Italian Furniture." Apollo. June 1989, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1989
6Mitchell, G. Frank. Treasures of Irish Art 1500 BC-1500 AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art & Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1977
7Becket, Sister Wendy, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. The Story of Painting. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc. 95 Madison Avenue 1994
8Yorke, James. "Engraved Decoration on Early Fifteenth-century Italian Furniture." Apollo. June 1989, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1989
Becket, Sister Wendy, in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. The Story of Painting. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc. 95 Madison Avenue, 1994
Cole, Alison In association with the National Gallery, London. Eyewitness Art: The Renaissance. Dorling Kindersley, London, New York, Stuttgart.
Fosdick, J. William "Burnt Wood In Decoration with Ancient and Modern Examples" Cornell University Library, "Making of America" Series. Originally published 1896.
Halstead, Gary R. "Woods in Use in the Middle Ages and Renaissance", www.medievalwoodworking.com/articles/wood.htm , c 1999, 2001
Hartt, Frederick "History of Italian Renaissance Art" Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1994
Menendez, Kathleen "Antique Pyrography" WWWoodc@rver E-Zine, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 1997
Menendez, Kathleen "Pygrograffiti" Woodcarver On-Line Magazine, Vol. 8 Issue 6, Dec/Nov 2004
Mitchell, G. Frank. Treasures of Irish Art 1500 BC-1500 AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art & Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1977
Salaman, R.A. Dictionary of Woodworking Tools, c. 1700-1970 and Tools of Allied Trades. Taunton Press, Inc. 63 S. Main Street, Newton, CT 06470 USA Reprint Sept. 1990
Theophilus, On Divers Arts, translated by J.G. Hawthorne & C.S. Smith, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1979
Wirestrung Harps by Witcher, www.harpanddragon.com/witcher_wire.htm Recreation of Trinity Harp.
Yorke, James "Engraved Decoration on Early Fifteenth-century Italian Furniture." Apollo. June 1989, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1989, pp. 389-392 and p. 445.