MART-701 Lessons

It was a lovely day at Hogwarts. The sun was shining, the giant squid in the lake was hopefully happy, and the library was littered with students studying for their N.E.W.T.s. Some of those students stressfully flipping through texts looked relieved as the clock tolled, signaling the next hour, as they were able to take a break from studying and head off to Magical Art. As they made their way up to the fifth floor, everything seemed normal until they started hearing a conversation in… French? Entering the Magical Art classroom, not only were they greeted by the sight of beautiful jewelry displays decorating the room head to toe and a book titled “Bewitching Baubles” was placed on the professor’s desk, but Professor Rosenquist was also fluently chatting away in accented French to an unfamiliar lady. The students looked certainly perplexed that their professor, who was very much Swedish, even knew French, but nonetheless took their seats. As the last seat was filled, Professor Rosenquist glanced over and, after a brief pause, gestured for the guest to sit down at the empty chair behind her desk. After the guest took her seat, the professor turned to address the class.

Hello students and welcome again to our little art chamber. As you can see we have yet again another special guest that I’m sure is a complete stranger to most of you or perhaps a celebrity if you are very into jewelry. Please welcome Esme Rosier, author of Bewitching Baubles! Esme and I met years ago during my very brief tenure at Beauxbatons Academy and she has remained a dear friend of mine. Considering our lesson today is focused on metalwork and jewelry, how could I resist inviting her? Speaking of the lesson, let’s start.

Metalworking is a process near and dear to my heart as an alchemist. It’s the art of, well, working with metals to create metal objects. This is a very brief definition but it encompasses so many different processes such as smelting ores, to creating alloys, to welding, to creating the huge ships that Muggles use, to even creating jewelry, which we will get to later in this lesson! Not only is this considered an art medium, but also a huge contender in science, industry, and trade. If you have Knuts to spend at Honeydukes, a cauldron to use in Potions class, and a Bludger to make Quidditch that bit more dangerous, then you can thank metalworking! Aside from the handiwork used to make those items, Knuts are made from bronze, an alloy of copper, tin, and other metals, which wouldn’t exist without the advancements made over the years by various metalworkers.

Thanks to a discovery of a copper pendant in Iraq, we know that metalworking techniques date back to around 8,700 B.C.E. Copper was a fairly easy metal to work with, which makes sense as to why a lot of really early artifacts were made from it. It was hammered until the metal became brittle, then it was heated in a kiln. Once it was heated, copper could then be easily worked into different shapes. As multiple ancient civilizations started to find more and more metals, whether it be from ores or even meteors, metalworking started evolving too. This evolution over time slowly cemented a small group of metals they could use - and this should ring a bell for anyone who has taken Year Four of Alchemy - called the seven metals. They were gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, mercury, and lead. Metals like copper, tin, or lead had to be heated to be freed from their ores, whereas iron was actually found in meteors. Gold was so soft that it was workable without heat and it was naturally found as nuggets so it was a popular metal to use as it required nothing beyond simple tools. More options of metals and metal alloys eventually gave way to major technological advancements in history.

Along with copper being such a prominent metal used in metalworking, tin also became a majorly popular metal. You see, iron was technically more abundant, but its high melting point prevented civilizations from commonly using it due to the lack of technology needed to heat the metal at the time. However, copper had a moderate melting point and tin had a low melting point, both of which their kilns could handle. Then they realized that the two could be mixed together to make, as we mentioned earlier, bronze. Tin had to be smelted separately and then mixed into hot copper to make bronze. Think of it almost like you’re mixing ingredients in a potion or adding melted metals into your potions. This was a huge discovery for mankind, as bronze was more durable than what was available at the time, and this widespread use of bronze across the globe was collectively called the Bronze Age. It is, however, hard to pinpoint when exactly this period started and ended due to it not occurring simultaneously over the globe. It started from as early as 3,300 B.C.E. in civilizations such as the Indus Valley, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to as late as 600 B.C.E. in Europe and 300 B.C.E. in East Asia. Not only was this a prosperous time in metalworking but other new developments were made, such as the creation of new writing systems, written law, organized warfare, and even the foundations of astronomy and astrology. Alchemists particularly thrived around this time as they delved into metallurgy and began to focus on the possibility of transmutation. If creating bronze was possible, why not gold? There were also other interesting inventions that popped up around this time like the copper and bronze cauldrons (though I’d say the latter isn’t as popular nowadays) and charmed jewelry. Once you involve other species in this narrative, like goblins, things really take off! As you may already know, goblins are – and have always been – the most skilled metalworkers of all. During this time, they were forging pure metals and enchanting them with their own magic. Their unrivaled skill allowed them to create numerous pieces of metal art throughout history with an ease that always seems to surpass witches and wizards. These metal creations have even made their way into everyday items, from our currency to even the iron parts of Quidditch performance brooms.

Eventually the Bronze Age ended and led to yet another incredible period for metalwork known as the Iron Age, which hinged on the advancements of using iron and steel, the latter of which is an alloy of iron and carbon. While I’m sure I could keep going on about the history of metalworking, you would be in here for much longer than our allotted time and we do have a guest waiting. So let’s talk about some processes and techniques!

Much like every art form that we’ve discussed last year, metalworking has many different processes, mediums, and ways to execute the art. Since it’s a big umbrella that does reach outside of only creating art, we will be taking a look at the following major processes used in creating metal artwork: hammering, casting, enameling, repoussé, chasing, gilding, and inlaying. As always, I do encourage outside research if you are interested in other areas of this art form that we won’t get to due to time constraints.

Hammering is one of the earliest processes used in the history of metalworking and it’s typically considered to be a “basic” process along with casting, drawing, and spinning. That being said, hammering actually used to be the process utilized in creating decorative metalwork. Different parts of the artwork were hammered out separately and attached to a solid core or beams through using rivets. While it’s not exactly the best way of attaching metal, this did technically predate the much more efficient method of soldering, which is joining two or more pieces of metal through melting and adding a filler metal into the joint. Casting, on the other hand, was developed and evolved alongside hammering. It’s the process in which liquid metal is poured into a mold of various impressed shapes. This should sound familiar for those of you who have taken Year Six of Alchemy, as we discussed sand casting as a method for elemental transmutation! Now, there’s two different categories of mold casting: expendable and non-expendable. Much like the names imply, expendable molds are temporary and non-reusable while you can continue to use non-expendable molds repeatedly. To name a few examples, expendable molds include loam, lost-wax, plaster, plastic, sand, and shell casting and non-expendable molds include centrifugal, continuous, die, and permanent casting. While some art was created using one or the other, often the two mold types were used in conjunction with each other. One of the more famous examples is the Colossus of Rhodes (c. 280 B.C.E.), which you may have heard of before since it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The sculptor, Chares of Lindo, constructed this enormous statue of the Greek Sun god, Helios, using copious amounts of iron beams and casted bronze pieces all riveted together. What’s also pretty interesting in the making of the sculpture was that the largest casting pit ever created was used in casting the bronze for the Colossus. Chares’s pit was made of clay and covered with massive amounts of wax that he would shape into the various parts of the statue. All in all, the resulting metal sculpture stood about 33 meters (108 ft) high and was the tallest statue in the ancient world until it collapsed only 54 years later during the Rhodes earthquake of 226 B.C.E., where it snapped at the knees and fell over. Interestingly enough, there have been proposals to rebuild the Colossus as recently as 2008. However, nothing has been decided yet and the actual location of where the statue once stood is still a heavily debated topic to this day.

When we get into decorative processes, enameling is actually not just an important innovation for metalworking, but also for other areas of art such as ceramics. Specifically, you might remember enamel paints from our lesson on painting last year! Much like the paints, multiple combinations of metal oxides and other materials are mixed into frit to create color. For example, black copper oxide mixed with a large amount of sodium carbonate (washing soda) actually creates a nice bluish turquoise shade. After the enamel glaze is made, it is applied to the metal and fired at intense temperatures to set the glaze, resulting in a very pretty glossy coating. While there are several different methods of applying the enamel, there are two that are considered standard: cloisonné and champlevé. Cloisonné enameling involves creating raised compartments above the metal through attaching metal strips to the main metal surface and then pouring a vitreous enamel (or porcelain enamel) into those compartments. One example that immediately comes to my mind are the beautiful Fabergé Eggs (c. 1885-1917 C.E.) from Russia, one of them pictured on the left. Champlevé enameling was the exact opposite of cloisonné, in that instead of “raised” compartments, there were shallow compartments that were engraved out of the metal and then filled with vitreous enamel. This is for sure a topic we will for sure glaze over again, pun intended, when we get to our pottery lesson later this year.

Much like our two standard enameling techniques, two other similar processes in terms of being “raised” versus “sunken” are repoussé and chasing. Repoussé is a type of embossing technique where a design is hammered from the reverse/back side to create a relief. Think of it similar to the blocks used in relief printing, which we discussed last year during the printmaking lesson! The sheet of metal is laid onto asphalt and the design is hammered in, simple enough. The metal is then flipped over face up and the background is hammered down, making the design more prominent. This process gets repeated several more times before it’s considered finished. Chasing, on the other hand, is creating a “sunken” design by hammering from the front side, technically creating a relief on the back side if you flipped the metal over. Both techniques are often used in conjunction with each other as well, which you can see in the historic Gundestrup cauldron (c. 1st or 2nd century B.C.E.). This cauldron is the largest known example of silver work from the European Iron Age and one of the earliest recovered works of goblin metalworking, though there was a century-long debate between humans and goblins over this claim which only ended after testing if the cauldron was truly made from goblin-wrought silver.

When it comes to adding material onto the metal for decorative purposes, both inlaying and gilding are sure to do the job! Inlaying is when various materials such as wood, glass, gems, or precious metals are pressed into depressions on metal surfaces in order to create a design or pattern. These materials are flush with the surface and you will typically see this in furniture, though it is pretty common in general with metalworking. The Sword of Gryffindor, if you ever get to lay your eyes on it, is said to have been inlaid with rubies and is another example of goblin metalworking. Inlaying was even used with the Gundestrup cauldron from above to add glass pieces for the eyes. On the other hand, gilding is when a covering of a metal (typically gold, but also can include copper alloys, palladium, and silver) is applied to metal in leaf or powder form. Essentially, the surface of the metal is primed and dried, before an adhesive to hold the metal leaf is applied to it. One example with gold leaf gilding is the Ram in a Thicket (c. 2600-2400 B.C.E.) statue from Mesopotamia, pictured on the left. Personally, I think “goat on a tree” may be a more accurate description of it, but I digress.

To tie into our next topic, metalworking has long been used in the art of jewelry making; considering the first piece of copper jewelry dates back to around seven thousand years ago. Though I will say that metalworking isn’t the sole way of making jewelry. Ancient jewelry made from bones, feathers, pebbles, shells, and the like predate the earliest of cave paintings and even today there’s still jewelry made from using similar materials and simply stringing them together with, well, string.

Witches and wizards have enchanted jewelry or created jewelry made from magical items since humans have walked the Earth for various purposes. Hunters in early nomadic wizarding groups would bring back bones that were carved into jewelry and imbued with magic to instill luck or feelings of courage. Before jewelry was made to symbolize status in a society, civilizations like Mesopotamia were so wealthy that everyone owned and worked decorative jewelry into their everyday lives, and they even had it buried with them in tombs to bring their possessions with them into the afterlife. This saturation of jewelry really cemented its place as an art form early on. Colors were even thought for a while to bear meaning that would bolster magical effects. For example, blue symbolized birth, fertility, life, and protection in ancient Egypt, so you would often find amulets and necklaces adorned with lapis lazuli worn by women that wanted to start a family or even warriors that sought the aid of an early protection spell. You can see that some of these ideas still linger in our present day jewelry and that we still ascribe magical correspondences to certain materials, which is precisely what I invited Mademoiselle Rosier to discuss with all of you.

Mlle. Rosier, a slight woman bedecked in robes so iridescent that they’d put a Niffler to shame, smiles brilliantly at the professor before turning to face the rest of the class. With a pat of her hair, the woman begins to address the class in a heavy French accent. 

‘Alo, students. It is an ‘onor to meet with the bright young minds at Hogwarts, and tres enjoyable to get to speak with you about a subject so dear to my ‘eart: the world of magical jewelry! As your professor has mentioned, not only does magical jewelry span thousands of years, but it is also quite varied in other ways. Nearly any kind of jewelry you can think of ‘as been enchanted: nose rings, necklaces, toe rings, tiaras, broaches, cufflinks, collars, and more. 

The reason for this widespread popularity is twofold. First, jewelry is incredibly portable and, by nature, will always be on your person. It can be worn multiple days in a row without concern for ‘ygiene, or can be switched out daily. Regardless, jewelry is very convenient to enchant as, unless you specifically take it off, there’s no accidentally leaving it behind and being unprepared at a crucial moment. For this reason, beauty charms, defensive charms, and many enchantments required to be in effect at all times are commonly applied to jewelry. Second, jewelry is receptive to magic. What I mean is that rather than attempt to cast a short-lived beauty charm directly on yourself, or applying temporary creams or potions, jewelry can ‘ave Deep Object Charms applied to them.

’owever, the charms applied are not the only source that enchanted jewelry can draw its magic from. You’ve already discussed wandwoods in this class, and know that particular woods are attuned to various skills or traits. For example, rowan wood is well-suited for defensive magic and larch wands purportedly imbue the owner with confidence and courage. ‘owever, it may be more surprising to find that wood is not the only material to do so! Various metals, gems, or stones can do the same. This is often to a lesser degree (after all, metals and gems do not usually possess their own inherent natural magic). But there are still some wonderful feats of magic performed with the combination of spells, jewels, and individual talent!

There are many witches and wizards that suggest that certain metals or gems ‘armonize especially well with certain types of spells. Most agree that there are an uncanny amount of bronze bespelled baubles that overlap lend their wearers physical prowess, or diamonds used to great effect in amplifying magical power (often in staves and amulets). Of course, not everyone puts stock in these supposed magical affinities, and skeptics cite the varied associations that can be attributed to a single material. For example, because of its popularity as a metal, gold ‘as been used all over the world for thousands of different purposes. Therefore, instead they propose that the perceived affinity of certain metals or gems is due to the placebo effect.

Whatever you believe, this is certainly a ‘ot topic of study at the moment. Investigations into this topic are new and numerous (though quite fickle, as discoveries made today may be disproven tomorrow). It will take far more time for these potential properties to be understood and accepted. With this in mind, I ‘ave included a chart of some of the more prominent theories of association between gems or metals and magical effects.

Now that we understand the popularity and versatility of magical jewelry, let’s talk about the imbuing process. This varies considerably, but there are a couple details you’ll find useful. Technically, a metal or gem can be bespelled at any time in the creation process. People ‘ave even cast spells on entire swaths of earth in order to enchant the ores or jewels beneath (such as the Andamooka Opal Mines). 'owever, most frequently, jewelry is either enchanted after the final piece is made, or at least after the metal is shaped or the gem is cut. The reason for this is, when shaping gemstones or firing metals (particularly the latter), there can be reactions if the item is already enchanted. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you 'ow dangerous that can be! Those who are able to successfully enchant materials early in the process often reap the benefits of enhanced potency -- goblin metalworkers as a notable example -- but many are unwilling to risk trading potent enchantments for ‘alf their fingers or their sense of smell.

Never fear, though! It’s not terribly difficult as long as you wait until the end of the process. You can either go the less permanent route and use conventional spells, or try Deep Object Charming. Make a note of the effects you desire, find the appropriate spells, decide which part of the jewelry to enchant (for example the necklace pictured ‘ere ‘as separate enchantments on the diamonds versus the pearls or the metal), and go! Generally, the more spells cast (whether woven together in a Deep Object Charm or separately on different parts of the piece), the more difficult it is. Of course, as you increase in proficiency, you’ll likely improve and finesse your methods, weaving in additional spells for stability or longevity. 

As a final note, while spells are often the most common way of creating magical jewelry, there are other equally powerful -- if not as popular -- methods. If you have taken Ancient Runes, it 'as likely already occurred to you that a carefully inscribed mark ‘ere or there could ‘ave excellent effect. Potions ‘ave also recently been used in bewitched ornamentation. It’s a tricky field at best, but shows promise for the future!

Thank you for that wonderful and insightful lecture, Esme! I may need to invest in some sunstone jewelry for my own research experiments. As for the rest of you, this concludes our lesson for today! We have our first Project Hour assignment of the year today as well as a short quiz. Be sure to complete your assignments before the next time we meet. Other than that, have a wonderful day and get back to studying for your N.E.W.T.s!

Lesson written by Professor Serafina Rosenquist
Guest lecture by Professor Venita Wessex