The Fire-Breathing Brunswick Lion

THE PROJECT

Sixteen years as a bakery owner gives a person a unique set of skills that translates to many different roles in life. One of those roles within the SCA is in Soteltie work. 

I often get asked for input on edible art projects - usually those of a larger scale - whether it be on the calculations, the engineering, the recipes, the colorings, etc. This time, I was asked to take on the bulk of a project - The Brunswick Lion Sculpture, with a twist...

The lion has to "breathe" fire.  

Having worked on the flaming dragon project in 2012 for the Coronation of Edward II & Thyra, I already had an idea of how the fire should go down. 

I was provided a sketch of the general idea, a photo of the original sculpture, and the dimensions of the fire-containing vessel, and I was off! 

Mistress Aife ingen Chonchobair in Derthaige would be making some sugar paste flowers and some leaves for decoration. The rest was on me. 

THE MATH

First things first! 

I needed some better photos of the sculpture. So, I did some hunting around. To make the fire-breathing happen, I needed to face the mouth upward. With the magic of Photo 3D, I made some adjustments and got the photo to the right. 

From there, I measured my car to see what I could fit inside. (If you ever take on a large-scale project, this should ALWAYS be your first step! You have to be able to get it where it's going!) I decided on a 2' x 3' base. I did make a bit of an error here, but we'll get back to that later.

Next step is figuring out the scale from the image to the creation. Due to the weight distribution, I needed to make sure there was enough base in front of his feet to balance out the head and ensure he doesn't tip forward. So I estimated where I wanted the board to go and created my scale. I used 19.5 cm : 36", a multiplier of 1.846 to the cm measurements on the page. 

I measured all of the dimensions I might need, used the multiplier and determined the real sizes of everything. 

I also had to figure out the shape of the core structure. To do this, I used a light box to draw on the opposite side of the profile picture. I sketched out what I wanted and where. Then, I got to more mathing and figured out the angles for building the leg structure. 

And they told me I'd never use math like this in real life! HAH! 

THE MATERIALS

I always say "Every great cake starts with power tools!" While this isn't a cake, it's certainly a sugary dessert and I was definitely going to use some power tools to make this happen. 

To determine what to use for the armature, I first went to my wood crafting stash. I had a good amount of heavy gauge wire fencing already. That would work for a body base because of the support it offered, but I would need something lighter for the shaped pieces. I also had a lot of scrap wood to use for structural pieces of the framing. 

Period wood craft is not currently in my skillset, so I'm not certain of what they would have done for the wire framing, But I'll bet they used something similar in period. While they didn't use plywood or pre-cut dowels, these are the modern, more affordable alternatives to the things they might have used at that time. 

THE BUILD

"Child, do you have a protractor? I can't find mine."

"A protractor? What's that?"

"A tool to measure angles."

"I have a compass set. Will that work?"

Every project is improved with a lesson on the proper tools! After finding my son's protractor and showing him the difference in how the tools are used, I set to work cutting the angles. Sadly, I had just returned the miter saw I had been borrowing. So, I had to make these cuts in less than optimal conditions. But I made it work!

From my stash, I used 1" oak dowels for the back, since those would would be supporting angular pressure and would be more prone to instability. I had a large number of wooden baluster pieces as well. I used those for the front legs and sliced up the rest to use as a "brick" border. The body plank was from an extra piece from the plywood base (I had to purchase a 2' x 4' piece). The other bits are also from my stash.

Lots of pre-drilling. Lots of screwing. Frame assembled!

Attaching the heavy gauge fencing was next. After fiddling with it a bit, I decided the best method was to staple it to the wood frame and use some additional wire to bind it together where it overlapped. I did leave a large overlap underneath to help maintain the overall shape. If it's cut too close, it can be difficult to maintain the curvature. 

It took a lot of wire cutting and manipulating to get the proper shape, but I eventually got it where I wanted it and moved on to the next layer....hex chicken wire. 

I ended up doing an offset double layer of this so I could have enough of a base to apply the royal icing to. The tail was particularly difficult, as there was no easy way to get a rounded shape. But I made it work.  

THE ROYAL TREATMENT

Having a good amount of experience with structural sugar, I new the next step would be to start building up the sugar foundation for the shape. I took a quick trip to the store and grabbed 8 lbs of sugar to start my work. Silly me. 8 lbs. 

HAHAHAHAHA!!

So anyway, I made & applied the first layer of royal icing. While I used a "modern" recipe for royal icing, the recipe has basically not changed in centuries. There are documented references to sugar glaze in the 16th century (A Book of Cookrye, by A.W; 1591 - recipe for "A Good Marchpaine"). However, the first documented reference I found using egg whites was in 1609 (Delights for Ladies, by Sir Hugh Plat - recipe "To Make Jumbolls"), which says "ice them with Rose-water and Sugar, and the white of an egge being beaten together. 

Instead of rosewater, I used regular old tap water. No need to use an expensive ingredient on something that won't be eaten. 

I made another trip to the grocery store (I was smarter this time) and bought out the confectioner's sugar. 

Sidebar! Let's talk for a minute about sugar. First, the modern stuff. What's the difference between granulated sugar and confectioner's sugar? 

- Granulated sugar processed from either sugar cane or beets and ground into the granules that you're used to seeing.

- Confectioner's sugar is made by further pulverizing granulated sugar. Most commonly in the stores you'll usually see 10x, which means it's pulverized 10 times. Though, it can be pulverized anywhere from 3 - 14 times. Also, an anti-caking agent is added to help with a longer shelf-life. This is usually corn starch. 

Photo Source: worldhistory.org

Next up:  Medieval sugar! They started by grinding down the sugar cane and extracting the thick sugar syrup. They pour this into a cone to dry & crystalize. These cones were anywhere from 2 - 30 lbs, most commonly around 14lbs. That's a LOT of sugar! People would use hammers or snips to break off manageable pieces and use them as is, or grind them (likely with a mortar & pestle) into the consistency they wanted.

So, if there was any doubt, let me assure you. Confectioner's sugar was available in period, it was a bit more work than granular sugar, but completely possible & plausible.

Now where were we? Oh! Right! Making a fire-breathing sugar lion!

I should note it was at this first layer of sugar that I had to re-work my initial plans. I had not originally planned to put the pies inside. i thought they were going on the base. Oops! Also, I wouldn't have the pies until around 2 and a half hours before feast began. Thankfully, I had already built a platform into the structure. So, I decided to place the parchment down as a base, then build a sugar "door" - using the wire frame as a mold - that could be removed, the pies placed in, and it would be replaced and iced closed. 

I used the glove method for layer two of the royal icing. Fun fact: Royal icing was originally called Egg White Icing until it was under the spotlight on royal wedding cakes in the 1800's!

For the third layer of royal icing, I used a spatula, smoothing as best as I could on any of the areas that would be finished with royal instead of sugar paste. This layer was more of a brown than green, to achieve the final bronze color. The plan being to finish the head, paws, and tail in sugar paste. 

For the base itself, I iced the entire board in grey royal icing. I used a stone fondant texture mat to achieve the texture on the bricks, then I carved a rough stone design in the rest of the base. 

I also added some dark green vines crawling through the stone base and over the edges. It was a small detail, but added to the overall picture. 

THE SCULPTURE

From here on out, I forgot to take process pics. Crap. Well, you'll just have to use your imagination. So, the sugar paste...

Some years ago, before I was interested in researching historical recipes, I was given a recipe by Mistress Alesone Grey for sugar paste. (Actually, the realization that this was a period material is what sparked my interest in historical recipes!) The recipe came from The Secrets of the Reverend Maister Alexis of Piemont (by Girolamo Ruscelli, 1595). 

I used a lily petal cutter to shape the thin fur tufts in the front, and a calla lily cutter for the larger fur tufts around the neck. I used a shell fondant tool to achieve the texture. To get the flow, I pinched each of the tufts together so they wouldn't lay flat against the sculpture. I used MORE royal icing to glue each petal to the base. 

The tail was also done in sugar paste with the shell tool. For he rest of the face, that took some quick sculpting. The sugar paste dries rather quickly, so working quickly is crucial!

I was given the pies - freshly cooked, but rapid-chilled to not melt the sugar - just about on time. I got them right into the beast and sealed him up. I used the remaining bits of royal icing to smooth out any rough parts from the quick drying sugar paste. 

THE COLORS

The remaining technique I used was thoroughly modern. Due to the modern time constraints, a modern approach was needed.

I laid fabric gently across the base to not get any coloring on the stone. I first airbrushed a layer of reddish brown to even out the colors and give a base for the bronze color. On top of that, I put a layer of gold. I considered laying a dusting of green-blue to add a patina to the bronze, but decided against it. I didn't feel that I had the time to make it look intentional and natural. 

For the colors themselves, I have a stockpile of commercial gel and airbrush colors. So, I used those. However, if I were going for period colors, I probably would have used the following: 

- Bronze: combination of cocoa and actual gold flake

- Green: Sorrel, cocoa for depth, and saffron for a brighter hue

- Grey: Raisins & cocoa would do the trick (though blood would also have been used in period. 

THE WOW FACTOR

After creating this beast, I was provided some stunning sugar flowers and leaves created by the fabulous Mistress Aife. These were a perfect addition! but let me tell you about this marzipan apple. 

I've done quite a lot of sculpting and sugar craft work in my years. This marzipan apple was perfect. Aife took a real apple, took a bite out of it, then sculpted & colored the marzipan. From the shape, to the shading, to the little speckles of white, this was perfect. (Photo to the left provided by Aife.)

In addition to the incredible sugar art additions, Master Joel Messerer used a 14th century documented method of lighting solid camphor to create a fire-breathing effect. The whole project together was stunning and a real show-stopper! 

THE BIG FINISH

For the presentation, Joel lit the camphor and Master Grim the Skald presented a dramatic reading of the story of the Brunswick Lion, as I rolled it - carefully - through the hall to the front table. The Lion emerged from the kitchen to thunderous applause! 

His Majesty was then asked to slay the beast with a rolling pin! He bravely stepped up and slew the beast, providing sweet sustenance for the gathered masses. 

Long live the King! 

THE ENTRANCE

THE OTHER VIEW

THE BLAZE

THE HERO'S BLOW

THE NEXT PROJECT

Thank you for coming on this journey with me! It's been quite an adventure and I look forward to the next one! There's nothing in the works just yet, but I'm always ready to jump in when asked. 

If you have questions or are interested in learning more for your own projects, please feel free to reach out any time! 

- The Honorable Lady Olivia Baker -