Fire silvering

Description

1) A silver gilding technique in which an amalgam of silver with mercury is applied to a metal such as copper or brass then the metal is heated to flash volatilize the mercury and deposit a thin layer of silver.

2) A silver gilding technique in which a metal is coated with silver powder then heated to melt the silver into a continuous film.

Synonyms and Related Terms

amalgam silvering; argenture au feu (Fr.); Feuerversilberung (Deut.); vuurverzilveren (Ned.)

Authority

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998