Olive Oil Culture History XII - Machine Oil, Oil Paint, Fabric Paint, Wood Preservative Material
16-04-2025
14:43
Photo; Sketch of a grinding device designed by Leonardo da Vinci to produce watercolours, "Molino della Doccia di Vinci; Shower Mill at Vinci", Atlantic Codex, 765r, ca. 1504 AD. The drawings in the notebook are related to the grinding and processing of oil-bearing fruits such as walnut and linseed, which are the main sources of oils used in the processing of paints. The artist's drawings of an olive oil press are also available.
Leonardo da Vinci's research on how to overcome friction in medieval machines is noteworthy. In his "Codice Atlantico" the artist claims that "every frictional body has a frictional resistance equal to a quarter of its weight." Modern engineers agree that this finding is close to modern standards. In order to reduce this type of resistance and make machines work more efficiently, Leonardo developed self-lubricating systems to lubricate bearings or axle ends, and he suggested using olive oil for this purpose.
In ancient Egypt, water poured on wooden planks served to overcome friction so that large stone statues could be moved, while sheep or cattle fat was used to lubricate the axles of Egyptian chariots.
Lard and water were the primary lubricants for Roman vehicles, although Cato the Elder suggested that the waste produced during olive oil production—which contained water and oil—be boiled and used to lubricate the axles of farm carts.
It has been suggested that rapeseed and poppy seed oils competed with animal fats as the primary lubricants in Northern European machinery during the thirteenth century, but this claim has not been substantiated and seems impractical to use, as they have a strong tendency to oxidise rapidly and become rancid. For example, poppy seed oil becomes hard and dry after twenty-four hours of exposure to air.
The lubricant for its moving parts was olive oil, one of the most exquisite natural friction-reducing substances known to the world. Unlike tallow and lard, which must overcome an internal shear stress (shear stresses that occur between two adjacent object surfaces when they move relative to each other) before they can flow, olive oil spreads easily and thoroughly over the surfaces it touches. Unlike oils that dry, it does not gum up and takes up to seven days to regain only 1.7% of its weight after exposure to air. Most importantly, olive oil holds up extremely well to pressure because of its viscosity and oiliness. If the olives are left to ferment too long before being pressed, they can become too acidic. This disadvantage was overcome by pressing the olives as soon as possible.
The question of how old the use of olive oil as a lubricant dates back is debatable, however, the use of olive oil as a lubricant for machinery can be traced back to the sixth century.
Pliny the Elder provides a lengthy treatise on olives and their oil in book 15 of his Natural History, including a comparison with "artificial" oils obtained from the wood, leaves, and fruits of trees. Returning to the works of Cato, he concludes his discussion by describing the many values of olive press residues and referring to their use as grease for wheel axles. Vitruvius gives some hints at possible applications of olive oil as a friction reducer.
It is thought that the use of olive oil in mechanical clocks must have begun in the medieval period, it is known that olive oil was used in 1513-1514 to help ropes and pulleys move more smoothly and cleanly, but there is a consensus that the use of olive oil as a lubricant was not very common.
Today's engine oils are often petroleum-based or synthetic. Using canola, sunflower or castor oils remains an environmentally friendly option.
It is thought that olive oil may have been used as a binding material in the past in Italy and Greece, which held the pigments used in the production of paintings together. Olive oil may have been used in traditional applications such as folk paintings, wall decorations or textile paints in Anatolia, Greece or North Africa. However, it has not been possible to prove all these claims. Chromatography analyses on the use of olive oil in historical paints have been examined, especially in recent years, in studies in the field of archaeometry and art conservation, but no data has been obtained, because olive oil is less polymerized and deteriorates over time, so it does not leave archaeological remains like linseed or animal fats. Only in a study conducted in Tunisia in 2020, traces of olive oil were found in the adhesive layers of North African Roman mosaics, but this was associated with the adhesive formula rather than the paint.
In a 2013 study, a mixture of olive oil and beeswax was detected in the residues on a 5th century BC pot found in Athens, but it was not understood what purpose the olive oil was used for. In a 2020 study in Tunisia, traces of olive oil were found in the adhesive layers of Roman mosaics, but this was associated with the adhesive formula rather than the paint.
It was undesirable for paints containing olive oil to have excessively long drying times. Theophilus, a 12th-century German artist and priest, warned against paint recipes containing olive oil in his Latin work De diversis artibus (Booklet on the Various Arts; the oldest European source of references to oil paint). It is known that olive oil-based paints are more prone to yellowing or cracking on the surface. However, during the Middle Ages, olive oil seems to have played a minor role in paint production, primarily as an ingredient in oil-based paints and varnishes. Although linseed oil was the predominant drying oil used in paints due to its superior drying properties, olive oil may have sometimes been used as an alternative option, especially in regions where it was more readily available, or for a few limited applications such as slowing down the drying rate. For example, combinations with walnut oil or poppy seed oil are known to have been tried.
Today, as part of the trend towards returning to natural materials, olive oil is a material that is being tried again in niche areas such as "bio-based paints" or "eco-art projects".
Olive oil may have been used as a finishing oil for wood processing and preservation in Southern European countries where olive cultivation was widespread, and in the production of ink pigment suspensions in early forms of printing. Towards the 18th century, developments in the chemical industry and the easy availability of linseed oil would lead to the extinction of these practices.
Starting in the second half of the 1700s, olive oil, which had been deliberately exposed to heat and light, began to be used in the dye industry. In those years, olive oil was an important export product of the Ottoman Empire to Europe through French merchants. Dye manufacturers began using olive oil - a technology that was clearly imported from the Ottoman world - in the production of the dye called Turkish Red or Edirne Red [macro dye]. The raw material for the color is the root of the rubia plant, and the dyeing process is laborious and long; it is a complex process that requires the fabrics to be washed in lye with olive oil, sheep manure and other ingredients multiple times, taking up to forty hours. In the 1700s, olive oil continued to be used in the processing of wool used for the imitation 'Tunisian bonnet' (fez), which was produced in various European countries and exported to Ottoman lands.
Compiled by: Uğur Saraçoğlu, Physician, Olive and Olive Oil Producer (ugisaracoglu@yahoo.com.tr)
Source:
Leonardo da Vinci's research on how to overcome friction in medieval machines is noteworthy. In his "Codice Atlantico" the artist claims that "every frictional body has a frictional resistance equal to a quarter of its weight." Modern engineers agree that this finding is close to modern standards. In order to reduce this type of resistance and make machines work more efficiently, Leonardo developed self-lubricating systems to lubricate bearings or axle ends, and he suggested using olive oil for this purpose.
In ancient Egypt, water poured on wooden planks served to overcome friction so that large stone statues could be moved, while sheep or cattle fat was used to lubricate the axles of Egyptian chariots.
Lard and water were the primary lubricants for Roman vehicles, although Cato the Elder suggested that the waste produced during olive oil production—which contained water and oil—be boiled and used to lubricate the axles of farm carts.
It has been suggested that rapeseed and poppy seed oils competed with animal fats as the primary lubricants in Northern European machinery during the thirteenth century, but this claim has not been substantiated and seems impractical to use, as they have a strong tendency to oxidise rapidly and become rancid. For example, poppy seed oil becomes hard and dry after twenty-four hours of exposure to air.
The lubricant for its moving parts was olive oil, one of the most exquisite natural friction-reducing substances known to the world. Unlike tallow and lard, which must overcome an internal shear stress (shear stresses that occur between two adjacent object surfaces when they move relative to each other) before they can flow, olive oil spreads easily and thoroughly over the surfaces it touches. Unlike oils that dry, it does not gum up and takes up to seven days to regain only 1.7% of its weight after exposure to air. Most importantly, olive oil holds up extremely well to pressure because of its viscosity and oiliness. If the olives are left to ferment too long before being pressed, they can become too acidic. This disadvantage was overcome by pressing the olives as soon as possible.
The question of how old the use of olive oil as a lubricant dates back is debatable, however, the use of olive oil as a lubricant for machinery can be traced back to the sixth century.
Pliny the Elder provides a lengthy treatise on olives and their oil in book 15 of his Natural History, including a comparison with "artificial" oils obtained from the wood, leaves, and fruits of trees. Returning to the works of Cato, he concludes his discussion by describing the many values of olive press residues and referring to their use as grease for wheel axles. Vitruvius gives some hints at possible applications of olive oil as a friction reducer.
It is thought that the use of olive oil in mechanical clocks must have begun in the medieval period, it is known that olive oil was used in 1513-1514 to help ropes and pulleys move more smoothly and cleanly, but there is a consensus that the use of olive oil as a lubricant was not very common.
Today's engine oils are often petroleum-based or synthetic. Using canola, sunflower or castor oils remains an environmentally friendly option.
It is thought that olive oil may have been used as a binding material in the past in Italy and Greece, which held the pigments used in the production of paintings together. Olive oil may have been used in traditional applications such as folk paintings, wall decorations or textile paints in Anatolia, Greece or North Africa. However, it has not been possible to prove all these claims. Chromatography analyses on the use of olive oil in historical paints have been examined, especially in recent years, in studies in the field of archaeometry and art conservation, but no data has been obtained, because olive oil is less polymerized and deteriorates over time, so it does not leave archaeological remains like linseed or animal fats. Only in a study conducted in Tunisia in 2020, traces of olive oil were found in the adhesive layers of North African Roman mosaics, but this was associated with the adhesive formula rather than the paint.
In a 2013 study, a mixture of olive oil and beeswax was detected in the residues on a 5th century BC pot found in Athens, but it was not understood what purpose the olive oil was used for. In a 2020 study in Tunisia, traces of olive oil were found in the adhesive layers of Roman mosaics, but this was associated with the adhesive formula rather than the paint.
It was undesirable for paints containing olive oil to have excessively long drying times. Theophilus, a 12th-century German artist and priest, warned against paint recipes containing olive oil in his Latin work De diversis artibus (Booklet on the Various Arts; the oldest European source of references to oil paint). It is known that olive oil-based paints are more prone to yellowing or cracking on the surface. However, during the Middle Ages, olive oil seems to have played a minor role in paint production, primarily as an ingredient in oil-based paints and varnishes. Although linseed oil was the predominant drying oil used in paints due to its superior drying properties, olive oil may have sometimes been used as an alternative option, especially in regions where it was more readily available, or for a few limited applications such as slowing down the drying rate. For example, combinations with walnut oil or poppy seed oil are known to have been tried.
Today, as part of the trend towards returning to natural materials, olive oil is a material that is being tried again in niche areas such as "bio-based paints" or "eco-art projects".
Olive oil may have been used as a finishing oil for wood processing and preservation in Southern European countries where olive cultivation was widespread, and in the production of ink pigment suspensions in early forms of printing. Towards the 18th century, developments in the chemical industry and the easy availability of linseed oil would lead to the extinction of these practices.
Starting in the second half of the 1700s, olive oil, which had been deliberately exposed to heat and light, began to be used in the dye industry. In those years, olive oil was an important export product of the Ottoman Empire to Europe through French merchants. Dye manufacturers began using olive oil - a technology that was clearly imported from the Ottoman world - in the production of the dye called Turkish Red or Edirne Red [macro dye]. The raw material for the color is the root of the rubia plant, and the dyeing process is laborious and long; it is a complex process that requires the fabrics to be washed in lye with olive oil, sheep manure and other ingredients multiple times, taking up to forty hours. In the 1700s, olive oil continued to be used in the processing of wool used for the imitation 'Tunisian bonnet' (fez), which was produced in various European countries and exported to Ottoman lands.
Compiled by: Uğur Saraçoğlu, Physician, Olive and Olive Oil Producer (ugisaracoglu@yahoo.com.tr)
Source:
4. Colombini (2009), *Analytical Chemistry*, "Characterization of Organic Residues in Ancient Greek Pottery."
5. Bonaduce et al. (2016), *Heritage Science*, "Binding Media in Byzantine Icons: A Multi-Analytical Approach."