Brass rubbing is a process by which an exact replica of a monumental brass plate is reproduced through the use of specialty papers and wax crayons. The plate from which a rubbing is made is called a brass. A monumental brass is a figure, inscription, shield, or other subject, engraved in plate brass and laid as a memorial. Their origin can be traced to the late twelfth century. They originated as relief etchings on the lids of coffins and evolved into incised slabs on altars and tombs.
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| Brass of Elizabeth Culpepper |
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| Brass of Thomas Golde |
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| The transition from incised slabs to the engraved brass appears to have taken place at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The material used for brasses was an alloy of copper and zinc. This was used extensively during that time period, over other materials like granite and marble, because the brass was sturdier, lasted much longer, and was considered more attractive that the other available materials. Traces of color can still be seen in many brasses in the heraldic shields, swords and belts of knights, and in the fancy dresses of ladies. Most of this color is presumed to have come from inlaid enamels.
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Today, brasses are still found throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. However, fewer numbers remain on the European continent because so many were destroyed or melted down during the wars when metal and enamel were precious commodities. Many brasses in England were also destroyed, but mostly by crusaders protesting their religious prejudices by desecrating the churches and their contents. The most obvious way to tell the difference between an English and a European brass is that the English brasses most often have the figure cut out to the outline and inlaid in a setting of stone, while the European ones have the figure engraved in the center of a large rectangular plate.
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| Brass of Margaret Peyton - The Lace Lady |
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The fourteenth century was the best period of brass engraving. The brasses are simple and dignified, with deeply etched lines in thick plates of metal. This period show the best examples of knights and their ladies, as well as ecclestiastical figures. Brasses not only commemorate the royal class, but also show many examples of petty tradesmen. Many also include examples of architectural styles, as well as religious crosses. The fifteenth century shows the beginning of the decline in both workmanship and design. There are still a few fine examples of high standard, but the majority show inferior workmanship in the attempt to produce an increasingly larger number. The military brasses are the most dignified during this time period, but many other civilian workers are pictured, including wool merchants, vintners and haberdashers. Overall size of the brasses is much smaller, and children and priests are more frequently shown. One disturbing development during the later fifteenth century was the introduction of shroud brasses, depicting either a single shrouded figure or a shrouded husband in the company of a wife in ordinary costume. Sometimes skeletons are shown, both clearly and shrouded.
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| Brass of the Lion Footrest |
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| Brass of Adoration of the Shepherds |
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The sixteenth century shows increasing deterioration in workmanship and also introduces the rectangular mural brass. In these brasses the whole surface is engraved, rather than figures individually outlined. Children and religious subjects are popular, especially the Trinity, the Virgin, the Adoration of the Shepherds, and the Resurrection. Over the ages, the number of brasses decreases greatly. The bulk of those that remain are composed of figures in armor, and they are smaller in size. The brass plates being manufactured during this time were much thinner; therefore most were destroyed easily. The designs were weak and the engraving very shallow, resulting in most of the lines being merely scratches on the surface. There are no more religious symbols, due to the influence of the Reformation, and more morbid subjects increase (like skulls). In the eighteenth century the brass seems to disappear. This was probably either due to engraving becoming a lost art, or fashion demanding a different type of memorial like the stone slab.
The process of brass rubbing involves stretching a piece of special paper over the deeply-etched brass plate and rubbing over the paper’s surface with a hard crayon-type wax cake. These wax cakes have colors incorporated into them, such as white, black, blue, red, green and brown. Some even have metallic colors, such as gold, silver, and copper to give a metallic sheen on the paper. By rubbing with these wax cakes, an exact copy of what is etched on the brass is created. The original rubbings were produced by using either gold wax on black paper or black wax on white paper. However, today there is a limited selection of colored paper available as well.
Brasses range in size from as small as 3 inches to as large as 7 feet in height. Larger scenes were known to have existed at one time, but have been destroyed over the ages. Most of the brasses being rubbed today are exact facsimiles that have been reproduced from the originals in the churches of England and Europe. This has been done in order to protect the remaining brasses from damage. Some of the original brasses have also been re-created in reduced-size replicas.
The creative process of rubbing a brass is indeed a learned art. Rubbing a clear and neat image is essential and not always easily achieved. Many brasses contain imperfections which should be replicated as they are, in order to maintain the authenticity of the original brass. The most complete collections of brass rubbings are held at The Society of Antiquaries of London, Cambridge University Library, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in England.
Brasses in the United States are practically nonexistent except in private collections. For this reason, brass rubbings are extremely rare and their origin all but unknown. The history behind each brass is a fascinating insight into medieval times throughout Europe and Great Britain. Their archeological and historical importance has grown over the ages, giving record as to the details of costume, armor, heraldry and social history. Some claim that brasses are the most consistently dated works of art of the Middle Ages.
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