Inaccuracy of the word Stucco

Inaccuracy of the word "STUCCO"

There is another word that in its modern meaning is to be considered a very inaccurate term; this is the definition of the word stucco.

Formerly, with 'Stucco' was meant a mixture of lime and stone or marble powder, fit for giving a moldable and paintable mixture before its hardening.

Commonly and wrongly nowadays with the word 'stucco', we refer either to the lime-made putty and to the gypsum made plaster, but the two art forms are very different either in technical and aesthetic aspects.

For example Egyptians, masters in wall smoothing and sarcophagi coating, used gypsum made plaster. Sometime they used to melt it with sand, straw and slime (mud) from Nile as binder and they would decorate and paint the whole afterwards, when dried and hardened.

For sure Egyptians' was an art form as much noble but well different from the one about the lime based putty. As we could already specify Venetian Master stucco decorators were extremely able craftsmen, deeply expert about materials and careful about the composition itself. From the raw matter was lightly depending the work final result and its colors.