TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 289
cushion must have been in use since ancient times when the application of gold In
leaf form began. The one described by Cennino Cennini in the early XV century
(C. CXXXIIII, Thompson,, p. Si) is like that in common use today,, the padding
in his case being made with 'shearings/
Dabbetj a large, round brash, regularly of camel hair (see Brush and figure i).
Desk. This piece of furniture as a particular equipment of the artist is largely
confined to the use of scribes> illuminators, illustrators,, miniature painters, and
draughtsmen. The varieties of its forms are innumerable and, according to the
evidence of old paintings and illuminations, follow the changing styles of furniture
in general. Johnston (pp. 49-51) describes in some amount of detail a simple desk
to be made for illuminating and lettering from a drawing board hinged to the
edge of a table and elevated to the height required by a round tin set under it.
On this board (figure 8) the paper is held by tape or string at the top, and by a
kind of pocket made from heavy paper or vellum fastened across the lower part.
Under this is a light pad of blotting paper. He says that Eastern scribes use a
pad made of fur.
Dipper, a small cup for medium or diluent, made to be clipped onto the edge of
a palette. This is of metal, usually with an opening smaller than the body of the
cup, and frequently is equipped with hinged lids. In Renaissance paintings in
which an artist is represented at work, the container for such liquids is usually
shown as a kind of cup hung over the peg of an easel or in a similar position. The
dipper, or small container, attached to the palette, is probably of fairly recent
origin. A pair of them is seen in a work of the school of the XVIII century in the
Bonnat collection at Bayonne. This is a drawing, said to be a portrait of Boucher.
The artist is shown with a large, oval palette on which is clipped a double oil cup
or dipper of the kind now commonly sold.
Divider, an instrument like a pair of compasses (figure 9) used for comparing
and laying off dimensions (see Compass). The proportional divider has a movable
axis point and is scaled so that the opposite ends can be kept at a certain ratio.
Draughting Instalments. These are used more by architectural and engineer-
ing designers than by painters, but sets of such instruments are frequently listed
with the supplies of artists* colormen. They usually include pencil and pen com-
passes, ruling pens, and dividers.
Easel. A light frame made to hold a painting in a vertical or nearly vertical
position is probably the most universal article of furniture in the workrooms of
painters and certainly is one of the oldest (figure 10). The simplest design is an
arrangement of three legs so that two stand forward in a parallel position and have
pegs or other rests where the painting can be held up. The third leg swings back,
and its position determines the angle at which the painting stands. Although
subject to many variations in details of its construction, such a three-legged easel
with pegs for the picture is a standard type and is somewhat different from an-
other that is now prevalent. This other has usually been called a 'studio easeL*