Development of Ornamental Plasterwork
By Maximilian F. Friederang
The American Architect
Vol. CXV Wednesday, April 16, 1919 Number 2260 W
HEN Belshazzar, over 2500 years ago, saw the handwriting which foretold the doom of Babylon, it was upon the plaster of the wall. That the use of plaster has an even older history is revealed by its existence in the masonry of the pyramids, where it was constantly incorporated both to fill joints as a bedding and to level up hollows. The flaws and defects in the faces of stones were freely filled with plaster, which was then colored to match its setting. In some of the rock tombs in Egypt, plaster was also utilized in filling cracks, and examples of these exist today where the surrounding rock has decayed while the plaster has remained in perfect condition.
Evidence on the earliest dwellings of primitive man indicates that plastering is one of the oldest of handicrafts exercised in building construction. At that remote period he builded with sticks in simple fashion and plastered them with mud. In the course of time a more durable material superseded the mud, and excellence in producing plastering materials was approached early in the history of construction. This statement is supported by the fact that some of the earliest plastering which has remained undisturbed through the centuries equals in its chemical composition that which is made at the present time.
Just now, mortars and plasters are among the most familiar materials employed by the builder. These consist of three general classes which, however, merge into each other when mixed in different proportions: lime plasters, used for exterior and interior plastering; gypsum or plaster of Paris, so called from its extensive manufacture in Paris, used where perfection of detail is demanded, or where the walls are to be covered with tapestries or wall paper, or decorated with colors, for interior
work; and cement plasters or stucco, for exteriors where strength and durability are required. Lime plaster is produced by heating very pure limestone to such a temperature as will drive off the carbonic acid gas and leave a residue called calcium oxide or “quick lime,” lumps of which, after being removed from the kiln, are called lime shells. When water is added to lime shells they swell, crackle, and fall into a powdery mass. This process is called “slaking,” and the resulting substance is “slaked
Copyright, 1919, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)
ORNAMENTAL PLASTERWORK IN DRAWING-ROOM AT EASTON, NESTON, NORTHAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND
By Maximilian F. Friederang
The American Architect
Vol. CXV Wednesday, April 16, 1919 Number 2260 W
HEN Belshazzar, over 2500 years ago, saw the handwriting which foretold the doom of Babylon, it was upon the plaster of the wall. That the use of plaster has an even older history is revealed by its existence in the masonry of the pyramids, where it was constantly incorporated both to fill joints as a bedding and to level up hollows. The flaws and defects in the faces of stones were freely filled with plaster, which was then colored to match its setting. In some of the rock tombs in Egypt, plaster was also utilized in filling cracks, and examples of these exist today where the surrounding rock has decayed while the plaster has remained in perfect condition.
Evidence on the earliest dwellings of primitive man indicates that plastering is one of the oldest of handicrafts exercised in building construction. At that remote period he builded with sticks in simple fashion and plastered them with mud. In the course of time a more durable material superseded the mud, and excellence in producing plastering materials was approached early in the history of construction. This statement is supported by the fact that some of the earliest plastering which has remained undisturbed through the centuries equals in its chemical composition that which is made at the present time.
Just now, mortars and plasters are among the most familiar materials employed by the builder. These consist of three general classes which, however, merge into each other when mixed in different proportions: lime plasters, used for exterior and interior plastering; gypsum or plaster of Paris, so called from its extensive manufacture in Paris, used where perfection of detail is demanded, or where the walls are to be covered with tapestries or wall paper, or decorated with colors, for interior
work; and cement plasters or stucco, for exteriors where strength and durability are required. Lime plaster is produced by heating very pure limestone to such a temperature as will drive off the carbonic acid gas and leave a residue called calcium oxide or “quick lime,” lumps of which, after being removed from the kiln, are called lime shells. When water is added to lime shells they swell, crackle, and fall into a powdery mass. This process is called “slaking,” and the resulting substance is “slaked
Copyright, 1919, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)
ORNAMENTAL PLASTERWORK IN DRAWING-ROOM AT EASTON, NESTON, NORTHAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND