A history of gilding with particular reference to statuary

Abstract

Gilding is defined and its origins explored. The techniques of gilding discussed are: foil gilding; leaf gilding; diffusion bonding; cold mercury gilding; fire gilding; electrochemical gilding; gilding with gold powder; electroless gilding and the decomposition of organinc gold compounds; and electrolytic gilding. This is followed by a discussion of the relationship between alloy composition and gilding technology for Roman bronze statues, in which it is shown that fire-gilded statues were usually cast in fairly pure copper whereas leaf-gilded statues (which are generally earlier than the fire-gilded ones) were cast in a leaded bronze.

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