The word Stamp in Turkish means; ball, ball, marble, seashell, a type of seashell used in paper polishing.
In the past, since it was not possible to produce the surface of the papers produced in paper mills in a flat and smooth manner where the pen and brush could move easily, the stamping process was discovered as a result of various searches in order to give the paper a smoothness. Thus, the stamping process was passed down from generation to generation to remove the roughness of the papers, make them shiny and make them more usable.
The stamping process was a process that required the papers to be used in special book arts to be stamped with ahar, a special mixture made of starch and egg white used for paper polishing, and then to be stamped within a week so that this layer would not crack and soot ink would fill in between. The stamp has been produced in various forms over time, but the most common and surviving form consists of a smooth wood with a handle thick enough to be held by hand on each side and a groove in which a shiny and hard stone called flint is placed throughout.
How is the Stamping Process Performed?
First, the papers to be stamped are placed on a board specially made of linden tree, with a smooth surface and a size larger than the paper sheets. Then, a thick piece of cloth applied to oily human skin or dry soap is passed over the paper to provide slipperiness, and the stamp is held by both ends and pressed firmly on the paper, making back and forth movements, while the paper is released. If something is to be written on both sides of the paper, a separate stamping process must be performed for each side.
Apart from the papers used for printing, all papers used for handwritten works, whether they are sized or not, are subjected to the stamping process beforehand. It is also known that the stamp board (pesterk) is prepared in a slightly concave shape so that the stamp moves faster on the paper.
A glass stamp the size of an ostrich egg can also be used for smaller and fewer stamping jobs. Here, the stamp is grasped from both ends and pressed on the paper. The hard and shiny shell of the sea bug called the abalone can also be used for the same purpose. This small type of burnishing is also known as “minkaf, mıskale (mazgala), halezon, senc”.
Burr Types
There are different types of burnishing to burnish papers specially made in the arts of illumination and calligraphy. After gold is used in illumination, it is polished to remove the appearance of paint. A special type of burnishing, zer burnishing, is used to perform this polishing process. A wooden handle thick enough for the hand to grasp is attached to a stone that can be smoothly leveled and shaped like a large almond, such as akik, suleymani stone, jade, yemen stone. The zer burnishing stone is called “bademî” or “yassı” due to the shape of its polishing stone. It is essential that the zer burnishing process is applied to the face or head and made slippery with skin oil before the polishing process.
Flaking Burnishing Burnishing: A cakmak burnishing burnishing burnishing burnishing is made of flint. It is made of wood in the form of a roller used by holding it from both sides. In the part between the hands the tree is carved and flint is placed inside.
Zer Muhre: The muhre made of hard agate is used in gilding and gold polishing. It is obtained from stones such as agate, Süleymanî stone, jade, yemen stone.
Billur Muhre: It is a muhre made of glass in the shape of a goose egg.
Böcek Muhre: It is made from sea beetle shell.
