Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

14
Introduction to traditional gilding
14.1 Background
Gilding describes the practice of applying
extremely thin gold leaf to a surface to imitate
solid gold or to otherwise imitate the appearance
of solid gold. Gilded surfaces were originally
viewed under daylight or candle light,
the only forms of illumination. They were
often embellished with texture that gave variations
in reflectivity and added to the overall
decorative effect. The European tradition, later
exported to the New World, traditionally
applied gold leaf using the distinct processes
of water gilding and oil gilding. These
processes are distinguished by different
methods of preparation and application that
result in varying surface appearances. This
chapter will outline the traditional materials
and techniques used to create gilded surfaces
on wood as well as giving a brief introduction
to the conservation of such surfaces.
Gilding is a skill with a strong craft tradition,
historically passed from master to
apprentice, and was traditionally subject to a
great deal of secrecy. There is, as a consequence
of this tradition, a wide variation in
the preparation of materials and application
techniques within this craft. Although the
principles of gilding are fairly standardized,
gilding practice is not. The information
presented in this chapter should be considered
a guide to the continuum of practice that
constitutes traditional gilding.
Techniques to imitate the appearance of
solid gold have been used in all cultures that
have placed a high value on gold. Using many
similar techniques to those used today, the
ancient Egyptians, for example, utilized
rounded stones and bronze hammers to beat
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the gold into leaf form, which was laid onto
surfaces of gesso and clay (Hatchfield and
Newman, 1991). Despite this technical continuity
there has been a wide range of stylistic
and regional differences in the way gilding has
been used as a decorative surface. The
context, date, style, country or even region
will have a direct bearing on the gilding of an
object. As a result a thorough knowledge of
historical styles, materials and techniques is
essential when trying to reproduce gilding of
a particular style or period. The appearance of
the gold and groundwork of a sixteenth
century Italian icon or altarpiece, for example,
is very different to that of a Louis XV console
table. The appearance of gilding can vary
greatly depending on different treatment of the
groundwork, colours of clay and gold, the
method of leaf application and treatment of
gold after it has been laid.
14.1.1 Water and oil gilding
The two basic techniques of gilding onto a
wooden substrate are water gilding, which
traditionally utilized a collagen glue, and oil
gilding, where the gold leaf is adhered to the
ground by a mordant, usually an oil-based
size. The principle of using thin gold leaf
applied to a surface to simulate solid gold is
similar in both cases but the materials and
techniques used to apply water and oil gilding
differ. Water gilding must be laid onto a
porous ground, normally gesso, and is a more
time-consuming process than oil gilding. It is
water soluble and is therefore unsuitable for
exterior use. It is primarily, though not exclusively,
used on fine furniture and objects.
Water gilding can be burnished to a highly