cobalt blue

Ingredients

cobalt blue, white tin-glaze

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The artist applied white tin-glaze to the interior of 3D-printed polygons made from white earthenware paper clay (p. 162). After firing, cobalt blue was used with a thin brush to write calligraphic text—specifically words from a poem found on historical Alhambra vases like the Fareer vase—directly onto the glaze surface (p. 162, 163).

Evidence

"For the second wing (Fig. 115) option for this vase, I applied a white tin-glaze to the inside of the polygons and fired them. Using cobalt blue, I then wrote a word or two from the poem inscribed on the Fareer vase (Fig. 92) using a thin brush."

Remarks

This contemporary application of cobalt blue for calligraphic 'inner beauty' mirrors traditional Nasrid ceramic decoration styles where Arabic inscriptions often covered the body of the vase (p. 153). The cobalt is used as a calligraphic medium (ink function) on a ceramic substrate (p. 162).