Nobody knows when that first moment in history was, when the first gold ingot was made of gold ore. Since when mankind realised the true features of this soft, yellow metal and mesmerised by it. Obviously first, solid statues were cast of it. Tools and technologies for manufacturing were yet too simple. The first mention about Gold Leaf like material is the Ark of Covenant, but there is a strong body of evidence that in Egypt the manufacturing of gold was as good as well.
The gold has special features indeed, not only being a noncorrosive metal, which feature is known by everyone.The gold is soft and ready to make alloys with other metals, which is very important in goldbeating and goldleaf. In our age the leaves are thin not as at the Ark of Covenant had been,possibly thick ,not so handy.
So what quality is important in our goldleaf ? Thickness, colour, how rigid, is what gives the quality of cutting. All comes with alloy, caratige and defines if the leaf is for watergilding or oilgilding. Can be easily burnished or not. In our world quite few firms are producing really good gold Leaf.
In 2002 I had the honour being invited to Yorkshire to estimate a job.To estimate and to give a restoration plan for an early Gillow sitting suit composed of several chairs,sofas and tabourettes. The family expressed their wish to use all of them in the future since Broughton Hall is not a museum. I made a search of layers which revealed 3 layers of chalk and glue gesso, painted, gilded, and 4 layers of oil based colours. The layers were loose. The final decision was that after a thorough documentation we return to the first scheme with the contemporan waterbased technology. The watergilding was partially burnished. The result was convincing so since then I’m permanent guest in the house. Later the stuccoes of the library and dining room were done by our team, and even later the White drawing room. One thing is important: when two small patches of gold turn up in a room, from then everything is changed there. The gold takes over, changes harmony of colours, changes distances, enhances previously irrelevant spots. In between two gilded spots, relevant ornaments become irrelevant. Tops of ornaments sparkle and everything near sinks in greyish-yellowish shadows. Sparkling tops attract gaze and block further eyemovements. These are the mysterious features of gold and gilders must take advantage of these.
It was hard to do all logistics of work which preceeds every major work scheme, pattern, technology, secure the site, tools, accesories like scaffoldins rythm of 12 hour size oil and 3 hours oil. Since this is a lived in house, we had to ponder the comfort of the family. The beautiful odour of 12 hours size oil might have not been enjoyed by everyone in the surroundings. The vulnerable, precious furniture and pictures seemed a bad idea to move out. Every moving is a risk. We decided to use only two small scaffoldings, and those to rotate around with the less movement of furniture as possible.
Lefranc oil and Wrights of Lymm gold was our choice, it worked out wonderfully.The neoreneissance mainly floral onaments came to life. Since those rooms are not overlit, light kills gold, and gold was a good couple of metres away from eyes, we decided not to detone anything. The result was convincing so the family decided that the white drawing room needed a major redecoration too, including cleaning all frames and furniture of the fireplace tar. Above the dado there was a heaviliy fake-gilded fillet of about 100 meters. Furniture and frames were repaired with bronze powder, fake gold and who knows what deep ocker paint. So we cleaned all and partially regilded. Now came the detoning of new gold until it’s nearly the same as old. And here comes the good alloy. How much rubbing endures the leaf. Our goal was to bring out the overlapping of leafs on frames and furnitue, exactly as the old surface.This took a short year. By then decorators rubbed all walls and designers designed the new wallpapers, curtains, carpets. Compared with this the gilding was a short 2 weeks action. Again using a Lefranc oil size and Wrights of Lymm’s Gold Leaf combo. The result was convincing again.
After this period I was busy restoring nice furniture and waiting for another massive gilding job around. This turned up when Roger Tempest of the family bought Aldourie castle near Inverness. Here came hundreds of frames again crowned at the end of the whole gilding project by the architectonical gilding in the castle itself. The castle was completely renewed and a nice article appeared in the 26,January Country Life in 2011.Our team is always busy with the Tempest family’s restoration projects since the Hall is in the state of permanent improvement room by room. This years ’little’ job was gilding 120 meters of heavily carved extremely moved fillets. Here came again the issue:to learn this special fillet to gild. How to cut ,rythm of 12 and 3 hours already reformed, lead acetate free oil. How to mop in goldmorsels to gain the most possible gold surface without laying a leaf.
At the beginning I mentioned that gold has special features. I got into trade, training in 1980, and in 1982 I layed up my first leaf. A little wrinkled, rugged but was my first. I was mesmerised, and I still am.
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- Ceiling restoration
