The Columbus courier. [volume] (Columbus, Luna County, N.M.) 1911-1920, 1919-04-18
ANTIQUITY OF
DECORATIVE ART.
Strange Sources From Which
Pigments Used by Modern
Painters Are Derived.
PRESERVATION OF SURFACES,
Crude but Effective Processes Employ.
ed BY the Egyptians and creeks Of
PiIny's oay-Noah P%rudently
waterproofed the Ark.

swer 10 n need for n prc%scrvaiive or TO
meet q desire for beauty il n question
fully as knotty as the ancient one about
the relative time OF arrival Of tho
chicken or the egg. Il was invented,
though. and II serves both purposes
equally ~ whether It ls M offspring
NJ mother necessity or on adopted son
Of beauty remains forever a disputed
question
The nrst men. covering under tho
fierce and glaring n n Of the biblical
countries. constructed rude huts OF
wood 10 shelter them. The %perishable
nature Of these structures caused rapid
decay. and II II probable that the oc-
cupnnts. seeking some ARTIFICIAL means
~ preservation. hit upon the pigments
n the earth In their search. II IA per-
hnps natural 10 suppose that Il was
the Instinct Of preservation that ted
men 10 the search. although the Tlorles
~ the sunset and the beauties Of the
rainbow may have crcnted n desire to
Initiate those wonders In their own
dwellings.
The earliest record of the appllcn-
ton Of a prcserNative 10 n wooden
structure dates from the ark. which
wns, according 10 the Bible, pitched
within and without" The pitch was "a
triumph " preservation whatever II
lacked IN n thing ~ beauty.
Decoration applied a. buildings first
comes 10 light with ancient Babylon.
whose walls were ruyered with repre-
sensations ~ hunting scenes and Of
combat. These were done la red aud
the method followed was to paint the
scene on the bricks nt the time ot
manufacture. assuring %pcrmnncncc by
baking. strictly speaking, this was
not painting - much ~ u Wus the
earliest manifestation OF our own Ia
miliar kalsomlnlng.
The first Hebrew to mention paint.
INK l. Moses. In the thirty third chap
ter ~ the book ~ Numbers he In.
structs the %lsraelitrs. "Whcn ye have
passed over the Jordan Into the land
~ Cunnnn. then shall So drive out all
the inhabitants ~ the land from be.
fore you and destroy all their pie.
lures, %
Al later periods the Jews adopted
many customs ~ the peoples who sue.
ccsslvely obtnlncd power over them
aud In the n%pocryphal book NJ the
Mnccnheos II found this nllusl0n a.
the ART Of decorating, For ns the mus
ter builder ~ % new house must care
Tor the whole building. hr be- that
undertaken 10 set IL out aud paint u.
must seek out things for the adjoining
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit IN n
Greek Tor the discovery ~ paint. the
illusions 10 Il IN the books of Muses.,
the painted mummy eases uf the E.yp
tlnns and the decorated walls of Baby
Ion and Thehes us its origin nt %
period long antcccdrnt to the Grrriau
err. The walls ~ Iupbrs were paint
cd 1890 years before the coming ~
Christ and n9G years before umer
smotc his hloumln' tyre
The Greeks recognized the value of
paint ~ q pr%cscrvuii,e and wadc uso
NJ something akin io II ON their ships
Illny writes 81 tho mode nj boiling
wax and painting ships with iL. after
which. he continues. neither the SEA.
nor the wind. nor the sun can destroy
the wood thus protected"
The Romuus, being essentially u
wnrlike people. never hrourht the dee
Grafton ~ buildings To the high pluuc
II had reached with the Gr'oks. For
all that the ruins ~ Pompril show
many structures whose mural dccoru
lions ARE In fair shape today. The
colors used we're giarInT A black
background was the usual me aud the
combinations worked thereon red, yel
low and blue.
In the early Christian err the use Of
mosalcs Tor churches somewhat sup
planted mural painting. sun, during
the reign ~ Iu-tlnian the Church of
Saint Sophia was built NJ Constantine
pie and M walls were adorned with
paintings
In modern times the uses of paint
have rome 10 be- us numerous M lts
myriad shades aud tints. Paint IL
unique In that lts name ias no syno.
nym and for II there Is NO substitute
material. Bread Is the stan NJ life. but
paint Is the NE ~ the stair.
No onc thinks ~ the exterior of u
wooden building now except In terms
NJ paint coated. Interiors, too. frum
PAINTED walls and stained furniture
down la the lowllesi Kitchen utensll.
al receive their protective towering.
Steel. 80 often associated with ccment
re%-enforcing. h lninied neiore II eors
10 give snlliity 10 the manufactured
stone. The huge girdcrs of the SKY
scrupers Hre dnuhcd nm ugly hut eth.
Client red underneath the airfare coal
~ black. Perhaps the besl example
of the value of paint nm steel h found
In the venerable Rronklyn bridge. on
which n fnng NJ painters h kept go.
INK continually. II h scare possible
20 ihirk NJ u single manufactured mr..
iicle wnirh dncs NOT meet paint some
where In ~, course ~ IN construc.
lion. So Inns rnini grown iutJ the
very marrow Of o.. I've