Koftgari - genuine vs. fake

[Battara]

Phillip you bring up a good point. I have an Ottoman kard (bichaq) that has slightly domed koftgari with the cross hatching. Yet my sossoun pata has flat koftgari.

Unless it is Bidri, I think that cross hatching is a great hint for true koftgari, and how "painty" the work appears.

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by Battara

Phillip you bring up a good point. I have an Ottoman kard (bichaq) that has slightly domed koftgari with the cross hatching. Yet my sossoun pata has flat koftgari.

Unless it is Bidri, I think that cross hatching is a great hint for true koftgari, and how "painty" the work appears.

The presence of cross hatching is NOT an indication of genuine Koftgari as paint is also applied on cross hatching to adere to the surface. All the fake Koftgari I have seen was applied on cross hatching.

To my knowledge, fake/painted Koftgari is not very common, but since it is dirt cheap to produce I am pretty sure we will see more of it.

[ariel]

Maybe I just do not get it:
OK, they cross-hatched, applied gold paint , and then? They had to wipe off the unneeded paint to preserve thin, uniform, precise lines, right?
How was it done? Scraping off dried gold paint would leave behind uneven lines, no matter what.

Am I missing something?

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by ariel

Maybe I just do not get it:
OK, they cross-hatched, applied gold paint , and then? They had to wipe off the unneeded paint to preserve thin, uniform, precise lines, right?
How was it done? Scraping off dried gold paint would leave behind uneven lines, no matter what.

Am I missing something?

Hello Ariel,

The process is simple:

1. make the cross-hatches so that the paint adheres to the surface
2. with tiny (and I mean really tiny) brushes paint the desired pattern
3. let it dry
4. finished.

Now why would there be unwanted paint to be scraped when it is painted exactly the pattern that is needed (thin, fine and precise)?

It is like painting a miniature work just it is much easier because you have only one colour and the detail is not that small (in miniature painting I have seen artists in Udaipur using brushes with one or two hairs).

However, since the gold paint is rather thick, the precision of the design is not very good. Just have a look at the Tulwar hilt that I mentioned (that I can bet it is painted) and try to imagine yourself painting it with a precise brush and a steady hand.

[ariel]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

try to imagine yourself painting it with a precise brush and a steady hand.

What? No sixpack at lunchbreak?

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by ariel

What? No sixpack at lunchbreak?

When I suggested you try to imagine painting the respective Tulwar, I wasn't being sarcastic, but I genuinely meant it as it will help you understand the technique and better judge the end result.

As with regards to the "sixpack at lunchbreak"... the truth is I have no idea what it means as I am not a native speaker.

[ariel]

Sorry: six pack is a colloquial American for a cardboard box of 6 bottles of beer.
Beer is just a liquid bread:-)
I am nursing a bottle of Heineken as we speak, but if you happen to come over, I shall take you on a day-long tour of local microbreweries. After a second one you will not be able to draw thin and elegant gold lines, but there will be a very wide smile on your face. You haven't lived till you tried Bell's Two-Hearted India Pale Ale:-)))

Cheers!