Altenburger Pergament und Trommelfell GmbH - Production |
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Parchment took over Papyrus as a carrying material of written information circa 250 AD. The skins of calves, goats and sheep are used as a source material. Making leather out of the skins means changing the fibre structure through the process of tanning it, in order to keep the flexibilities of the fibre. This process gets purposely avoided when making parchment. Parchment gains its unique characteristics by thoroughly drying the stretched skin. It remains slightly elastic yet hardly stretchy, even after years of being in use it does not rip or break. |
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To select my materials I directly travel to the manufacturer. Only here I can find an adequate range of parchments. It takes hours of looking through hundreds of skins to find those few that reach my expectations. But these are also marked by the anatomy, life itself and the treatment of the material. Depending on the piece I am intending to make I can only use certain parts of the skin. To find the right part of the skin requires long experience with the material. |
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