Materials & Techniques

Offset refers to the transfer of a design to an intermediary surface before it is applied to the final print. Until this method was developed in the late 19th century, all prints were mirror images of their design. Especially useful when printing text, offset methods eliminate the image's reversal so that it directly corresponds to the original design.

Monotypes are unique impressions of a design painted by the artist on an otherwise untouched matrix. While other printmaking processes have been adapted for mechanical production methods, the monotype remains closely bound to the original artist for two reasons: because the design is painted by the artist and not interpreted by a middleman and because only one print is produced. In this sense, it is as singular and unique as an oil painting or watercolor.

Hand coloring is the technique of manually adding color to a print as opposed to creating a separate plate for each color used in a final print. Hand coloring allowed for individual variation between impressions and appealed to audiences with limited access to paintings, as well as artists who produced works in both painted and printed mediums.

Stencil prints result from a design overlaid on mesh so that ink only passes through certain areas.

Printmaking requires a matrix, such as metal, limestone, wood, or linoleum, to act as the surface on which an artist creates a design to be transferred. Before the late 19th century, most artists submitted their designs to a middleman (for example, an etcher, an engraver, or a woodblock carver) for execution onto the chosen matrix. Also, until the late 19th century, all prints were mirror images of their design—that is, they were the reverse of the original image.

Iron was known to earliest man, first from meteors and later from ore. It was worshipped in Mesopotamia and formed into precious beads in Egypt as early as 4000 B.C. It was smelted from ore at least by 3500 B.C. The Phoenicians paid tribute to the pharoahs in iron. Greeks and Romans valued iron for its strength but preferred bronze for art. They used iron clamps to fasten stone building blocks laid without cement, and indoors to reinforce couches and tripods. Roman legionnaires wielded iron swords in battle.

Among the Asante, kente is a prestigious cloth that has traditionally been worn by kings and chiefs. Traditionally only male weavers created kente, but women have entered the field more recently. Kente consists of multiple woven strips. Each strip is created in a continuous band, four to eight inches wide.

The Akan learned the technique of brass casting from their North African trading partners, enabling them to create figurative goldweights. Brass, a combination of copper and zinc, is easier to melt and cast than gold. Akan and Asante metalsmiths used two methods of casting, which involves pouring molten metal into a mold and allowing it to cool.

Japanese metalsmiths used the lost-wax method to cast objects and also shaped metal by hammering. Surface patinations were produced by various methods, such as boiling the object in lye, then immersing it in various chemical baths. Metals traditionally used for objects include gold, silver, copper, and iron, which was treated to produce shades of black, gray, and russet. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was also used extensively. 

Chinese ceramic art has a long history covering thousands of years, and the quality of the works is among the finest in the world. Experimentation with clays and techniques characterized Chinese ceramics throughout history, resulting in continuing improvements and new technologies. Refinement of shape and decorative finish emerged as an ongoing standard of production, leading to elaborate factory systems of specialized labor.