Painting Teacher Question:

The first known examples are probably those used in Egypt which were simple bundles of thin reeds bound to a handle; the British Museum has one of these and its date is put at about 1900 BCE. Since that time many strange hairs and bristles have been used. Apart from attempts to use human hair; at least the following animals have been tried: horse, cow, ox, black sable, kolinsky, weasel, squirrel, ring-cat, skunk, civet, fitch, badger, pony, goat, bear, hog bristle from China, India, Poland, France and the Balkans; and from the sea the Blue, Fin, Sei and Humpback whales have contributed baleen. Plant fibres from Agave, Yucca, Sisal, Bahia, Gumati, Palmetto and Hickory splits have also been used. Broadly stated, hair brushes are for water-colour, gouache, miniature work, inks, tempera while the hog bristle is for oils and acrylics. Brush shapes that can apply to both hog and hair are: round, bright, flat, filbert, sword, rigger, fan or sweetener, mop. In the 18th century small sable or other hair brushes generally set in quills were termed pencils.