Difference between revisions of "Amalgam gilding"
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
| − | A gold gilding technique in which an amalgam of [ | + | A gold gilding technique in which an amalgam of [[gold|gold]] with [[mercury|mercury]] is applied to a metal, such as [[copper|copper]] or [[silver|silver]], then the metal is heated to flash volatilize the mercury and deposit a thin layer of gold. Amalgam gilding, or fire gilding, has been used since at least 300 CE in China. In most regions, it was replaced in the mid-19th century by electrogilding. |
== Synonyms and Related Terms == | == Synonyms and Related Terms == | ||
Revision as of 11:51, 7 January 2014
Description
A gold gilding technique in which an amalgam of Gold with Mercury is applied to a metal, such as Copper or Silver, then the metal is heated to flash volatilize the mercury and deposit a thin layer of gold. Amalgam gilding, or fire gilding, has been used since at least 300 CE in China. In most regions, it was replaced in the mid-19th century by electrogilding.
Synonyms and Related Terms
fire gilding; mercury gilding; dorure à l'amalgame (Fr.); Feuervergoldung (Deut.); dorado a la amalgama (Esp.); vuurvergulden (Ned.); amalgama dourada (Port.)
Authority
- David C. Scott, Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 1991
- Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996
- George Savage, Art and Antique Restorer's Handbook, Rockliff Publishing Corp, London, 1954