Minerals - Smoky Quartz - English Italian Hand

"Hard to believe this makes number 53 in my Mineral Calligraphy Series… The silicon dioxide mineral known as Quartz comes in all sorts of coloration besides the well known clear. Smokey Quartz is one such variant. Smokey Quartz can range from nearly clear to opaque, with coloration from brownish to black. Black Smokey Quartz is sometimes called Morion. Smokey Quartz colorization is the result of gamma radiation causing trace aluminum to transfer an electron within the silicon crystals. Smokey Quartz has never had any special uses, but has become a popular mineral in modern jewelry.

I've done this calligraphy in the early English form of Italian Hand, c.1690s. This was the style just before the Bickham generation of Pen Masters introduced traits of the then very popular and brand new English Round Hand which simplified the letterforms and increased its ledgibility. Chosing this early English variation was essentially an excuse to play with the Q. Other notable aspects in this piece are: the "a" done as usual but without the club-shaped turn being filled in; the old-style round "r" which was caried over from Gothic times; and the French-style "t"."

~2017, Don Marsh~
©2017 Don Marsh