Since ancient times, gypsum was considered beautiful and durable, and used as a stone, road paving and sculpture material. Its processing technology was passed down from Persia to Greece, and then the Romans incorporated it into construction techniques that eventually spread widely in Europe. Plaster of Paris is a common name, due to the abundance of gypsum near Paris, France.
The first evidence of the use of gypsum in building construction appears to have occurred in 7000 B.C., when the Egyptians used gypsum blocks and also applied it to the outer layers of the Pyramids at Giza. Alabaster, or crystallized gypsum, was used in sarcophagus building. Vibrant gypsum wall frescoes enlivened Mycenaean living quarters in 1700 BC. Other cultures followed, including the lavishly plastered ornamentation of Roman villas, and much later, the interior artistry of the Renaissance. In Japan, the Edo period (roughly 1600-1860) saw gypsum as a useful medicinal ingredient, and later plaster casting was used throughout eastern and western cultures to immobilize broken bones.
Interior Plastering Technique Evolution
The very first plaster methods were earthen, as simple mixtures of clay, sand and straw that required no furnaces and dried with the sun. The most ancient plastering techniques (derived from the Greek “Enplastron”) were applied circa 7500 BC in modern day Turkey. Mud brick walls and floors were coated in clay marl, a predecessor to plaster. Other early methods were cob and daub (which produces a natural concrete) or wattle and daub (reeds or wooden strips woven together between a wooden frame, then daubed with a sticky substance like wet clay).
In 1212, a fire engulfed London Bridge and the homes built along it. King John declared all buildings covered in reeds to be plastered or else demolished. The discovery that plaster could protect medieval homes from fire evolved in the 14th century into pargeting, by pressing wet plaster in different directions, to produce decorative geometric and organic shapes.
During the Renaissance, master craftsman elevated the art of plastering into the height of interior design fashion. Wealthy Venetians employed fresco artists from the classically influenced Venetian School of stuccoists and painters to decorate their homes. The 16th century "Sgraffito" (“scratched” in Italian) was done by applying two different colored layers of plaster, then scratching away the top level. Developed in the 17th century, the Scagliola method combined gypsum with glue and natural pigments that produced columns and sculptures to imitate marble. The German Baroque plastering style emphasized the ceilings of great cathedrals with sharply contrasted shadows and crisp design with the intent of drawing the eyes up heavenward.
British architect Robert Adam perfected an 18th century version of the Neoclassical style of plastered fireplaces, moldings and ceilings. In the 19th century New Orleans' French Quarter, lime plaster was applied to inside and outside brick walls, then dried into a smooth surface that protected from the elements and could also be finished with paint. There are still plasterers practicing this craft in today.
See “Modern Plastering Techniques” to continue this historical journey!
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