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French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Archaeology / ancient art
French term or phrase:teinture d'or ou d'argent
Hi again! DOC: 1907 Museum catalog of ancient Egyptian mirrors. CONTEXT: Le miroir ayant conservé son pouvoir réfléchissant, on peut s'assurer que le résultat obtenu est satisfaisant; car on aperçoit son visage sensiblement réduit avec un minimum de déformation qui choquait les Égyptiens beaucoup moins que nous. Au reste, pour porter un jugement définitif sur la valeur réelle de ces résultats, il faudrait restituer leur ***teinture d'or ou d'argent*** et leur poli à un nombre suffisant de miroirs convexes; or, nous sommes loin de compte avec la collection du Caire dont le seul exemplaire ayant conservé nettement son pouvoir réfléchissant, est non pas convexe, mais plan (n° 44048). ATTEMPT: we would have to restore to a sufficient number of convex mirrors their ***tincture of gold or silver*** as well as their polish; however, we fall far short with the Cairo collection whose only specimen with a significantly preserved reflective surface is not convex, but plane (No. 44048). ISSUE: I don't know what this is, what I don't think it is is dye, stain, tincture. Thanks in advance!
Explanation: I don't know why he's using the word "teinture" here, but it's clear from what he's talking about that he means the "reflective surface" --which is the relatively thin coating of gold or silver which is over the bronze supporting medium.
For some reason --at least in the Cairo mirror collection which he is cataloging-- the only exemplars which have survived with their reflective surfaces in tact are flat, not concave.
"Teinture" here might have the sense of a thin "wash" --produced by subjecting the bronze to contact with molten silver or gold?
Just speculating, but if that reflective surface were indeed quite thin, it might be that it was easily subject to being removed after successive polishing (esp. true for the silver, which would tarnish easily); and perhaps the concave mirrors saw more use than the flat ones, were therefore polished more often, thus subject to loosing their reflective surfaces?
I did at http://www.proz.com/kudoz/6377132 which must be the entry Christopher Crockett is referring to. But I do click on enter into glossary, I thought I was supposed to do that to give credit to the answerer. Was it me again? But then it can't be if Charles Davis was given credit/points correctly, as I said I did the same thing both times. And Yolanda Broad said that the points have been awarded to Christopher Crockett as I intended. Confused!!!
it seems to me that the original default setting for awarding points for the entry was to 1) notify the "winner" that she/he had been chosen and 2) offer that person the option of entering the translation if they wished to do so.
That's the way it has worked for as long as I have been on this site.
What has recently been happening --the last several times that my translation have been chosen-- is that I have, indeed, been notified of that fact, but have not been given the option to enter the term in the glossary; instead, the entry seems to have gone to Angela --apparently automatically, by default.
I mistakenly thought that this was Angela's doing, but apparently I was mistaken (with apologies to her); the best reason that I can come up with is that the default setting in the software has been changed; but that's just my guess, and may have no more relationship to Reality than a Trump tweet.
I notice that Charles' answer was recently chosen as the best and he was given credit/points for the glossary entry; I'm wondering whether he was given the option to make the entry, or was it automatically (by default) entered for him?
I'm just getting to this KudoZ, and see that the points have been awarded to Christopher Crockett, as angela3thomas had intended.
I'd like to report this glitch to ProZ staff, in the hope they can fix whatever issue had occurred. Can anyone describe what you saw earlier, when it showed that Angela had been awarded the points?
I know by now not to change the answer in the points section as that seems to cause it. Anyway, I've asked the moderator for help in correcting this here. Thanks for letting me know, I'm so sorry. I really have been careful....
But, from what B. says, it would seem that the silver/gold reflective surface could have been applied in one of two ways: in a thin sheet (cold), "par placage"; or (hot) "part teinture/doré au bain" --dipping at least the front surface in a molten "bath."
I haven't bothered to look up "teinture" in the Robert, but suspect that that is the sense of it; and I can hardly think of any other possibility. (Which doesn't mean that there isn't one.)
Thanks Writeaway and CC, the only other time the author uses teinture is: 2° que la dorure appliquée non seulement par placage, mais encore par teinture, était un des vieux procédés métallurgiques des Égyptiens, here I thought it was perhaps painting, but now I get the connection with: FAR FURTHER ALONG: Le disque est fondu, poli et doré au bain. = gilded by dipping. So teinture must be a wash as CC says. I couldn't have connected the these without your feedback. They were too far apart and I'm no metallurgist.
Assuming this term has come up before in your text (from February to now), what did you use the other time(s)?
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
14 hrs confidence:
teinture d\'or ou d\'argent
its gold or silver reflective surface
Explanation: I don't know why he's using the word "teinture" here, but it's clear from what he's talking about that he means the "reflective surface" --which is the relatively thin coating of gold or silver which is over the bronze supporting medium.
For some reason --at least in the Cairo mirror collection which he is cataloging-- the only exemplars which have survived with their reflective surfaces in tact are flat, not concave.
"Teinture" here might have the sense of a thin "wash" --produced by subjecting the bronze to contact with molten silver or gold?
Just speculating, but if that reflective surface were indeed quite thin, it might be that it was easily subject to being removed after successive polishing (esp. true for the silver, which would tarnish easily); and perhaps the concave mirrors saw more use than the flat ones, were therefore polished more often, thus subject to loosing their reflective surfaces?
Christopher Crockett Local time: 20:56 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 131
Grading comment
Guess maybe but an informed/educated one that makes sense to me and fits my context.
THANK YOU!
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