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Water and Oil Gilding
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art of gilding dates back at least 3500 years and was developed by the Egyptians.
It was discovered that gold could be beaten into extremely thin sheets and
this 'gold leaf' was applied to icons, temples, ornaments and furniture.
Techniques
and much-coveted recipes have been passed down through the centuries within
a small circle of gilders around the world. Many of these methods and
materials are still used to great effect and cannot be modernised or substituted
and so the craft lives on unscathed. Although many methods are labour
intensive the results are of the highest quality. |
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| Oil
Gilding is applied using an oil-based size (adhesive). Most non-porous
surfaces can receive this type of gilding resulting in a very durable finish
which can be used for both internal and external work.
Water Gilding is a far lengthier process which involves much surface preparation in order to achieve extremely high quality results. Timber surfaces require several layers of a material called gesso which can be rubbed down to a smooth finish. This is followed by layers of a clay based material called bole which can be highly polished in readiness for the gold leaf which is applied using distilled water as a size. The surface can be highly burnished to achieve a beautiful rich, deep finish. Gold leaf
is available in many different shades and colours from pale lemon to deep
rose as well as white gold, moon gold, platinum and silver. |
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