Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 8.djvu/82

54 settings in which the electra are to be placed, you will put together and solder in the order above-mentioned. Then in all the settings in which electra are to be placed, you will fit thin pieces of gold, and when fitted take them out, and with a measure and rule you will cut a fillet of gold, which must be somewhat thicker, and you will bend it round the edge of each piece twice so that a small space may be left between the fillets, which space is called the border (limbus) of the electrum. Then with the same measure and rule you cut small fillets of very thin gold, which you will fashion into any work that you may wish to make in enamel, whether circles, or knots, or little flowers, or birds, or beasts, or figures, and you will arrange the small pieces delicately and carefully, each in its place, and will fasten them with moistened flour over the coals; and when you have filled one portion, you will solder it with great care, so that the slender and thin gold may not be disjointed or melted, and you must do so two or three times till the separate pieces somewhat adhere.

"Having thus put together all the electra, and soldered them in this manner, take all kinds of glass which you had prepared for this work, and breaking a particle from each lay all the fragments upon a piece of copper, each fragment by itself, and placing it in the fire, arrange the coals around and over it, and blowing carefully you will see whether all the pieces melt equally: if so make use of them all. Should, however, any particle be harder than the rest, put it aside by itself, and taking separate pieces of the glass which you have tried, place them in the fire one by one, and when each has become white with heat throw it into a copper vessel in which there is water, and it will immediately fly into small particles, which you will proceed to break up with a round hammer until they are made quite fine, and you will then wash them and place them in a clean shell and cover them with a linen cloth. Thus you will prepare each colour. This done, take one of the pieces of gold which have been soldered together and fasten it with wax to a smooth table in two places, then take a goose quill and cut it to a point as if for writing, but with a longer beak and not split; with it you will take out one of the coloured glasses, [which