Scroll 54: Idirne Mosque Tile

A third scroll assignment came my way while I was working on the previous two. This one was for a surprise elevation and would be my first peerage level scroll. Also, the recipient had an Ottoman/Turkish persona, so I was excited to continue to lean on the rotational geometry theme I’d just learned. Again, I flipped through my copy of Islamic Mandalas to find a design that had a period source and a floral theme (the recipient likes roses). A 15th century tile motif from Irdine Mosque, Turkey was the perfect fit.

As this was a high level scroll, I made sure to use my period pigments from Eva and real gold leaf. This scroll has about 3.5 sheets of gold leaf on it. As you can see, it was really messy to apply and needed some cleanup afterward.

It looked much better after going over all the lines again with the micron pen. And, while I much prefer working with the Finetec golds, nothing shines like the real stuff.

It was only after the scroll had been delivered that I realized I’d completely forgotten to include a laurel wreath on the scroll. Oops. But still, I love this one.

Materials: 9″x12″ pergamenata, ruler, Ames lettering guide, pencil, eraser, 01 micron pen, pigments from Eva’s collection, gold leaf, Old World Art gold leaf adhesive, Princeton heritage 2/0 round paint brush, Speedball Super Black ink, dip pen