Gold Leafing

Gold leaf is an ultra-thin layer of pure gold used by crafters to create a gilded appearance on projects such as picture frames, sculptures and book bindings. The application of gold leaf through a process known as water gilding can be very labor-intensive and challenging for beginners. Gold leaf is extremely fragile by nature, and will adhere to almost any moistened surface. Professional gilders suggest it could take months of practice to become proficient at handling gold leaf.

Since pure gold is an element, not a compound or alloy, it can be compressed to nearly the atomic level without destroying its structure. This means gold could literally be pounded in a layer so thin sunlight could pass through it. This property of gold is essential to the creation of gold leaf. During ancient times, craftsmen would create gold leaf by placing a quantity of gold between two leather straps and pounding it by hand for weeks or months until the gold became exceptionally thin. The gold leaf could then be applied to paintings, sculptures and other religious or royal artifacts.

The modern method of creating gold leaf involves the use of metal rollers capable of compressing gold to a thickness of only 1/250,000th of an inch. The finished gold leaf can be cut into small sheets and sandwiched between layers of glassine paper, one of the few substances to which gold leaf will not adhere. Gold leaf is often sold in craft stores as one large sheet or in layers separated by glassine paper. Those who work with gold leaf may also invest in a special fan brush or comb used to transfer the gold leaf from the paper to the project.

Gold is valued both for its natural beauty and because it can be fashioned into most intricate and satisfying shapes and preserves for centuries it's luster and color. It's high melting point and malleability mean that it can be worked and beaten microscopically thin, so thin that it can be used to adorn, encase or cover an object, giving it the appearance of solid gold. The art of beating gold leaf and gilding dates back to ancient Egypt. Egyptian craftsmen beat gold into fine sheets by laying the gold on a flat stone then beating it with another stone.

Todays gold beaters have entered the world of high technology with computerized beating machines and modern substitutes of essential raw materials. Nowadays, only a handful of gold beating companies around the world produce gold leaf, one of them is the JAIPUR GOLD LEAF.

The transformation of everday objects has lured many of people into the spell of gilding. The rich glow of gilded picture and mirror frames, ornaments and decorative items has kindled a desire to learn the art of gilding.

The craft of gold leaf gilding in which leafs of gold are applied to objects for ornamentation, goes back over 4,000 years to Northern Africa where gold foil was applied to wood to give the appearance of being made of solid gold. The practice of gilding in the Middle East, whereby gold would be applied over other metals, has been traced to at least 3,000BC and continues to this day. Tomb paintings in Egypt is well known to all. Even in today's world of technological advances, if a proper gilt frame is to be produced, the vast majority of the labor must be undertaken solely by hand. Because of the amount of hand-craft involved in the production of these frames, they remain in a different class than standard manufactured and pre-finished mouldings. This difference is reflected in appearance, quality, and price.

There are two main types of gilding: oil, and water gilding. The names indicate the method by which the metal leaf is applied to the surface. Oil gilding is the cheaper and easier method for applying gold leaf. The advantage of oil gilding is that it can be applied to any smooth non-porous surface, so a piece of furniture, or a frame, only needs to be painted beforehand. The disadvantage is that it cannot be burnished. Traditional water gilding is complicated to learn, more expensive in labour, but much more beautiful. Gesso must be used, as the burnishing which takes place soon after the gold has been layed actually compresses the softened gesso ground so creating a smooth, polished surface to which the gold is melted in an apparently solid mass.