Gilding

Gilding is the application of a thin layer of gold to the surface of another material. A number of different techniques were used historically, depending on the object and the material being decorated.

For metalwork, one of the most important traditional methods was mercury or fire gilding. Gold was combined with mercury to form an amalgam, which was applied to the prepared metal surface and then heated. The mercury evaporated, leaving the gold bonded to the underlying metal. The surface was subsequently polished and burnished to produce a bright, durable finish.

The process was highly hazardous because heating the amalgam released toxic mercury vapour. Its dangers were recognised by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with prolonged exposure known to cause tremors, neurological illness and other serious health problems including premature death among gilders.

During the nineteenth century, electrogilding provided an important alternative. Developed alongside electroplating during the 1840s, it used an electrical current to deposit a thin layer of gold onto a prepared metal surface. This allowed gold coatings to be applied more evenly and without the dangerous mercury vapours associated with fire gilding.

On dressing cases, gilding was frequently used on silver fittings, bottle and jar lids, tools and other accessories, producing the silver-gilt surfaces often seen in finer examples. Brass mounts and other decorative metalwork could also be gilded to give the appearance and colour of gold.