DehartBeam638

2013-01-09T13:30:44Z

2.102.105.188: Created page with "Heraldry, the decoration of shields and surcoats - the linen tabards worn by knights and other leaders of small private armies who went to battle wearing a suit of armor, appe..."

Heraldry, the decoration of shields and surcoats - the linen tabards worn by knights and other leaders of small private armies who went to battle wearing a suit of armor, appeared first in the 13th century. So why did these knights bother to decorte their shields and themselves? It certainly wasn't for reasons of vanity. When in battle leading a small group of peasants probably raised from their local estates or area, it was difficult to tell who was who. With many dressed in a suit of armor it was difficult to tell who was who as a suit of armor looks very much like any other suit of armor and in the heat of battle it was nigh impossible to identify one's leader and support him. Hence the advent of heraldry: shields were decorated with simple designs, as were the linen garments worn over the top half of the suit of armor. This garment was known as a 'surcoat' which in time was corrupted to 'coat of arms'.

In fact most people refer to the design as a 'coat of arms' or a 'family crest', but the correct term is in fact an 'achievement'; the part of the design on the shield is the coat of arms, and the part on top of the helmet is the family crest.

Today, although few people dress in suits of armor and those do so only to joust in tournaments, many people display their family coat of arms as a framed print, on a shield, or maybe a ceramic mug. To read more go to
[http://140.115.34.61/groups/francaise/wiki/7b513/Heraldry.html this website] or, to see if your family name has its own coat of arms, go to our shop selling [http://1st4-coatsofarms.co.uk family coats of arms].

AltonShouse929

2013-01-08T12:04:13Z

2.102.105.188: Created page with "Technology marches on of course. Until recently to glaze an image or wording onto a ceramic plate involved such a large set-up cost that it was viable only for large numbers a..."

Technology marches on of course. Until recently to glaze an image or wording onto a ceramic plate involved such a large set-up cost that it was viable only for large numbers and certainly not suitable for a one-off.

With families wanting personalized ceramic plates to celebrate the birth of a baby, the only way to produce such keepsakes and gifts was to hand paint the plate using a brush and glaze. This required skill of course, but also time and the latter limited the amount of wording that could be placed on the plate. After all, the artist would like to limit the work and time spent on the painting as this directly affects the cost of production.

Then a company in Germany came up with a form of granulated glaze that could be used in a specially adapted laser printer. A design and wording can be digitalized and printed on backing that, when applied to the ceramic, burns off at around 800 degrees in the kiln, allowing the glaze to decorate the plate.

Thus the decoration of ceramics moves into the world of personalization: glazing a photograph onto a plate and adding the customer's wording around the rim of the plate is straight forward and the preparation can be done in minutes. This has opened up a whole new business although the cost of the printing equipment and the powdered glaze is expensive at present. The company at the forefront of this new personalized gift business has a website called [http://ceramiccards.co.uk personalised china plates] offering [http://ceramiccards.co.uk/baby-plates.html personalized birth plates], [http://ceramiccards.co.uk/christening-plates.html personalised christening plates], and [http://ceramiccards.co.uk/anniversary-plates.html anniversary plates]. This article was first published on [http://130.179.206.150/groups/test/wiki/3026e/Baby_Plates.html this website].

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DehartBeam638

AltonShouse929