Koftgari, How is it done?

[Pukka Bundook]

For a while, I have been wondering how Koft-gari was done.
I know the sort of basics,........Silver/gold hammered onto a roughened background, but was the overlay hammered onto a larger area, then a graver used to shape the overlay into the very fine designs often encountered, or were these fine designs somehow created, and then applied?

I also realise that there are different styles of this work which must be carried out in a somewhat different manner.
Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you,
Richard.

[Jeff Pringle]

Mostly, the designs are cut from foil or built up with very fine wire, but you can trim and shape the design with engraving after it is set as well. The technique is traditional in many countries, and the best overview of the process I was able to find on the web is from Japan:
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0813/f0813.html
(click on 'production' for the step by step process)
It is also described in "On Divers Arts" by Theophilus, a German monk c. 1120 AD, and in Untract's "Jewlery Concepts and Technology", the big reference tome of how-to for jewelry makers.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Jeff Pringle

...and the best overview of the process I was able to find on the web is from Japan:
http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0813/f0813.html
(click on 'production' for the step by step process)
...

very interesting website. i especially noted the bit where the deliberately oxidised steel is simmered for 30 minutes in tea for the tannins to stop the rust and blacken the oxide. i'll try that on my next rusty acquisition that is safe to immerse in tea......

[Battara]

With India/Middle Eastern koftgari, the area is engraved in cross hatch design and then the soft pure wire is hammered into place. It is technically an overlay.

[Jens Nordlunde]

The Indians used inlay, koftgari and something some call false koftgari. I will come back to the question to morrow, but now only mention that there was a very big difference in the costs of making these different kind of decorations, due to the work involved and due to the amount of gold, silver and copper which was seldom used.

[Pukka Bundook]

Jeff,
Thank you for the link, It goes a long way to explaining things!
I knew the gold or whatever was hammered onto a hatched back-ground, but didn't know if design was cut before or after.
Thank you for the reply.

Kronckew.
The tannin does sound an interesting thing to try!

Battara,
Yes i sort of understood this, but it was the details I wanted to know. Jeffs link shows at least One way of doing it,........Suppose there are lots of others!
Jens,
I look forward to your further reply!

Richard.

[Jeff Pringle]

There are a few ways to execute the technique, some traditions use a steel needle or scriber to crosshatch the ground. You can also erase extra crosshatching by burnishing, in the link it looks like they are using a punch to do most of the smoothing out.
There is not a whole lot of info on the technique out there, compared to other traditional crafts.

[Pukka Bundook]

Thanks for the further information Jeff.

I'd love to have a bash at this, but my main weapon at the moment is ignorance!
From the link you provided, I see that the shapes were cut out and applied, but can imagine that on very fine, repetetive designs, this would most likely not be possible, and was wondering if a film of silver/gold was applied more-or-less over the whole area, then either;
(A) a shaped punch used to "set" the pattern, the remainder being removed afterwards, or;
(B)the whole area being set, then the graver used to remove the overlay where it wasn't required.

The latter would make recovery of the excess overlay material difficult though.

What got me wondering about this, is I have a tulwar that was decorated with tiny crosses, originally over the entire hilt, and can't for the life of me see how these wee crosses could have been cut out, and applied with such uniform regularity.
In this hilt's case, where the silver was, and has worn off, the base - metal is higher, than between the crosses, as though a graver may have been used, Or an acid etch, to give depth to the finished product.

Any thoughts?

Thank you again for all your help Jeff.
Richard.

[Jeff Pringle]

You are welcome, Richard -
I've seen repetitive floral designs done with fine wire, doubled back on itself to make leaves & flowers, but I'm sure someone, somewhere has done the overlay and removal as you have outlined it, it's a flexible technique.

On the silver crosses, it sounds like it might be one of the other ways of overlay that Jens mentioned, if there is no evidence of cross hatching where the silver has worn off - but without a reasonably good photo, I can't speculate further. Can you get a close-up photo to post?

[Jens Nordlunde]

Before I start I would like to make it clear, that at least in some of the old books, koftgari is used for what we to day call inlay, as well as for what we call koftgari and for what some authors call inferior koftgari. Although it is not always noted, the surface was always cleaned with limejuice before the gold was applied, and with inlay the channel was left rough to make the gold stick better.

Inlay. The pattern was traced on the steel and engraved with a fine pointed instrument called cherma. Deep channels with undercut margins produced the finest quality of work which was expensive but durable. The metal was heated before the wire was hammered into the channel, forcing the wire into the space where it was required to spread. With the job completed, the surface was polished with agate rubber, mohari and cleaned with limejuice. Sometimes the inlay was filed down to be at surface level before being polished.

Koftgari. The surface was crosshatched with a knife or needle and the patters drawn over it with a hard steel needle, silai. The wire was hammered onto the surface, following the pattern, polished and cleaned with limejuice. In most of these cases the wire was too thin to be filed down further, but sometimes a thicker wire was used, letting the pattern stand in relief.

Mulamma – koftgari imitation, or gold plating on steel. The surface to be gilded was crosshatched or filed and the pattern drawn with a silai over it. Gold leaf almost microscopic thin was then applied and rubbed with an agate, bone or ivory burnisher. It was heated and rubbed again so that the soft gold was evenly spread and fixed to the surface, and the work was cleaned with limejuice.
Gilding was also done by applying and pressing a thin paste of gold and mercury on the steel surface. The application was heated to drive off the mercury leaving the gold fixed to the surface.

Islamic Arms and Armour of Muslim India by Dr. Syed Zafar Haider).

[Pukka Bundook]

Jeff,
Here is a close up of the little crosses, and one at a more moderate distance.
It sure looks rough from close up!

Jens,
Thank you for the over-view of different techniques.
I can see how possibly thin wire could be hammered onto the roughened base-metal, laying strands both ways to produce crosses.
I think if it were me though, I'd go insane before the first project was finished!

Now inlay, That I can understand!
It's no use, I'll have to have a bash as time allows...

[Jens Nordlunde]

I think the crosses are made in koftgari and the scratching, with the time, covered by rust and dust.
There is one more decoration which belongs in this category, and that is the dotted decoration. Dots are made close to each other in the pattern wished, and gold wire is hammered into the dots. The picture is not very good, but I think you can get the idea.

[Jeff Pringle]

Looks koftgari to me, too - and perhaps some black paint / pitch / enamel to help rust and dust fill in between the Xs?
Usually there is more than one direction of scratches, which is obscure on this, a couple hints but less obvious than usual. I'm having trouble deciding if the silver was applied in wire or foil form, right now it looks like small snips of wire due to the uniform line thickness and sharp inside corners on the Xs, but I might come up with a good theory for foil later on...

[Jens Nordlunde]

Jeff,

I think it is wire. Had it been foil, there would not have been so much left in the middle of the crosses, as the foil will be equally thick all over, but the wire would be thicker in the middle. If you look at the edges and see what has gone, and at the same time remember how very thin the foil, which they used was, then I think even less of the silver had been left had they used foil. Besides, I don’t think they used so small pieces of foil as they would have to take it with a pincer and hold it in place while they hammered at it, and I can’t see how they could do that with objects this small.

Jens

[Pukka Bundook]

Jeff, Jens,
I think maybe I should have taken a close-up of the handle part.
There, the silver has nearly all gone, but the hilt appears to be covered in an undulating pattern, the high parts where the silver was, and furrows between.
This May be accounted for by rust at some time, eating down the surface not protected by the silver, Or an intentional acid bath?
All I know is, the hilt feels and looks very textured.

I think, wether wire or foil was used, doing such repetative work,
I'd go daft after a very short time!
Thank you for your input!

Richard.

[Jeff Pringle]

Had it been foil, there would not have been so much left in the middle of the crosses, as the foil will be equally thick all over, but the wire would be thicker in the middle.

Good point, I agree.
I was trying to imagine the whole surface covered in larger pieces of foil, with the design scraped through, but everything seems to point more toward wire, which is the common way of building up designs on these swords anyway.

There, the silver has nearly all gone, but the hilt appears to be covered in an undulating pattern, the high parts where the silver was, and furrows between.

Usually, there is some attempt to erase the crosshatching where it is not holding silver on the surface, more or less effective depending on the craftsmanship. That, plus some rust are more likely than an acid treatment.
Jeff