Hiirodo ...

[docliss]

On p. 201 of the recently published catalogue of the Arts of the Samurai exhibition, currently at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, it is stated ‘machi-bori artists … employed a wider range of material, including hiirodo, a type of copper that is dark red’. Can Ford Hallam please tell me anything about the make-up of this metal; presumably it was an alloy of copper admixed with other trace metal(s)?

 

With thanks in advance, John L.

[John A Stuart]

Hi John, Until Ford replies. It is a particular treatment of copper, not an alloy. See this on 'The Carving Path'. John

 

http://www.thecarvingpath.net/forum/ind ... =1677&st=0

[docliss]

Thank you very much, John, for the information on hiirodo. I had read previously a posting by, I think, Ian Bottomly suggesting that the red coloration was obtained by 'heating a copper-containing alloy to a red heat and then plunging it into boiling water'. Is this an alternative method, I wonder?

 

John L.

[Mark Green]

That is an interesting idea John.

I'm getting ready to do a bunch of copper, Shibuichi, and Shakudo patina tests, I will give that red hot one a try. I'll post results to you when I'm done.

Did Ian say if that was into a patina solution, or just water.

I have put quite a bit of molten, pure copper, and copper alloys, into boiling water as of late, and I can say the color has not been other than what I expected.

I would think that the long, slow patina method is the most likely.

I'll let you know.

Mark G

[Ford Hallam]

Hello John,

 

yes, Ian described hi-iro-do here.

 

In general, the addition of any trace metals to copper will result in colours other than pure red. The cleanest colour red on copper is obtained by the method Ian described; ie: by heating and quenching in boiling water with the desired red oxide layer comprising nothing other than copper and oxygen. It's quite rare to see on tosogu.

 

Hi-iro 緋色 denotes scarlet in Japanese. [and hi is fire.]see correction below, this is not correct.

The image I've attached below shows a sample I made.

 

[Nobody]

......

Hi-iro denotes scarlet in Japanese and hi is fire.

......

Yes, its color is scarlet. But “hi (緋)” of hi-iro (緋色) does not mean fire but a brilliant red.

[Ford Hallam]

ah, naruhodo ..of course, thanks Koichi.

[IanB]

Gentlemen, I first came across this technique in a book I once owned on silverwork and jewellery written about 1900 for the 'Arts and Crafts' people. In there the technique was described as Royal Copper and was used occasionally in European artwork. I had noted small details of this colour used occasionally on tsuba and had wondered if the craftsmen has come across a piece of alloy that gave this colour by accident and treasured it for small touches. One piece I remember was a tsuba decorated with a court lady where the lower edge of her kimono was done in this manner. Imagine my surprise when on trying it for myself it found that it worked with modern pure copper, a lot of which is purified electrolytically. On a practical note, I wonder if Ford can describe how this might be done. It is one thing heating a piece of copper and dropping it into the water, but you couldn't do that to the whole tsuba. I assume that the small piece must be coloured in advance and then inlaid in that state, the remainder of the patination being done later. I do have a helmet which has one layer of the tehen kanamono done in red copper with others in gilt, shakudo and silver. That is easy though since they were all made separately and only came together when complete.

Ian

[Ford Hallam]

Hello Ian,

 

I first came across this technique in a book I once owned on silverwork and jewellery written about 1900 for the 'Arts and Crafts' people.

 

...that would most probably be the one by Henry Wilson. He was instructed in the rudiments of Japanese inlay-work and colouring processes by Unno Bisei.

 

As for how one used fire coloured pieces in conjunction with regular iroe I can only imagine it was a matter of supreme skill and care in setting the already red bits as though they were gemstones. I'll let you know when I manage it ...