Gilded British Coat of Arms Panel
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A Sevres three piece garniture magenta pendulum clock & two side ornaments on original wood and velvet stands, with key and pendulum, height 42 cm
Three N.Z. Machine Gun Corp. badges, World War I, for cap and shoulder
French ormolou clock heavily gilded with a front panel hand painted with a courting couple, with two other ceramic panels of serene rural scenes to the sides below two panels on either side of still lifes, set upon four impressive sphinx feet, with a key a
A Royal Worcester pedestal vase and cover by Harry Davis, 1905 the large tapered vase with twin scrolled branched handles painted with an oval panel of a shepherd and his flock in a wooded landscape within a delicate gilded border on a rich cobalt ground w