Depletion Gilding: an Ancient Method for Surface Enrichment of Gold Alloys
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The Legend of Bogota S N O M M O C
The Legend of Bogota s n o m m o C a i d e m i k i W a i v ) k r o w n w O ( ) z i t r O n á r u D o t r e b o R o i r a M ( o d r o i r a M y B A golden Muisca raft The Muisca people of Colombia had an unusual line of succession for its zipas, or rulers. The zipa’s oldest sister’s oldest son always became the next zipa. Tisquesusa became zipa of the southern Muisca Confederation in 1514 after his uncle died. The Muisca Confederation was one nation of people that was ruled by different people in the north and south. Tisquesusa was as ready as he’d ever be. His family had just come out of mourning for his uncle. They had mummified him and buried him only a few short days before. Beside him in his royal tomb, they placed pottery, food, golden ornaments, and other necessities for the afterlife. Tisquesusa had spent the last days fasting and felt weak but purified. The ceremony was about to start. Tisquesusa solemnly boarded the raft with his attendants and the village holy men by the shores of Lake Guatavita. 1 © 2018 Reading Is Fundamental • Content created by Simone Ribke The Legend of Bogota When the water was about chest-deep, Tisquesusa dropped his ceremonial robe. He let the priests cover his body in a sticky sap. Then they covered him from head to toe in gold dust until he shone and sparkled like the Sun god himself. -
The Bonefolder: an E-Journal for the Bookbinder and Book Artist Surface Gilding by James Reid-Cunningham
Bexx Caswell’s binding of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman; Illustrations by Jim Spanfeller. Hallmark, 1969. From the 2009 Bind-O-Rama. Volume 6, Number 1, Fall 2009 The Bonefolder: an e-journal for the bookbinder and book artist Surface Gilding By James Reid-Cunningham 28 Figure 1. The House South of North. Calfskin, gold leaf, Figure 2. Transfer leaf. palladium leaf, kidskin, fish skin, goatskin, box calf, abalone. Gilding on large flat surfaces is best done with transfer leaf Bound 2006. (also called patent leaf), which is gold leaf mounted on a piece Traditional binding decoration utilizes gold leaf to create of thin tissue that allows easily handling without wrinkling or discrete highlights, as in gold finishing. What I refer to as breaking the gold leaf. Transfer leaf can be cut with a scissors. “surface gilding” covers a binding with gold leaf over large Use a scissors reserved only for this task because any scratch areas, even over entire boards. This kind of decoration is rare or little bit of adhesive on the blade will pull the leaf and in bookbinding history, but can be seen in Art Deco bindings break it. When using loose gold leaf, it is necessary to adhere done in France during the 1920s and 1930s. Surface gilding the leaf to the substrate using oil or Vaseline. has become increasingly common among design binders in It sometimes seems that any adhesive ever invented recent years. Whether bound in leather, paper or vellum, has been used at one point or another to adhere gold to a surface gilding gives a spectacularly luxurious effect to a book, so there are many choices of what to use. -
Or on the ETHICS of GILDING CONSERVATION by Elisabeth Cornu, Assoc
SHOULD CONSERVATORS REGILD THE LILY? or ON THE ETHICS OF GILDING CONSERVATION by Elisabeth Cornu, Assoc. Conservator, Objects Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Gilt objects, and the process of gilding, have a tremendous appeal in the art community--perhaps not least because gold is a very impressive and shiny currency, and perhaps also because the technique of gilding has largely remained unchanged since Egyptian times. Gilding restorers therefore have enjoyed special respect in the art community because they manage to bring back the shine to old objects and because they continue a very old and valuable craft. As a result there has been a strong temptation among gilding restorers/conservators to preserve the process of gilding rather than the gilt objects them- selves. This is done by regilding, partially or fully, deteriorated gilt surfaces rather than attempting to preserve as much of the original surface as possible. Such practice may be appropriate in some cases, but it always presupposes a great amount of historic knowledge of the gilding technique used with each object, including such details as the thickness of gesso layers, the strength of the gesso, the type of bole, the tint and karatage of gold leaf, and the type of distressing or glaze used. To illustrate this point, I am asking you to exercise some of the imagination for which museum conservators are so famous for, and to visualize some historic objects which I will list and discuss. This will save me much time in showing slides or photographs. Gilt wooden objects in museums can be broken down into several subcategories: 1) Polychromed and gilt sculptures, altars Examples: baroque church altars, often with polychromed sculptures, some of which are entirely gilt. -
Tumbaga-Metal Figures from Panama: a Conservation Initiative to Save a Fragile Coll
SPRING 2006 IssuE A PUBLICATION OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY • 11 DIVINITY AVENUE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138 DIGGING HARVARD YARD No smoking, drinking, glass-break the course, which was ing-what? Far from being a puritani taught by William Fash, cal haven, early Harvard College was a Howells director of the colorful and lively place. The first Peabody Museum, and Harvard students did more than wor Patricia Capone and Diana ship and study: they smoked, drank, Loren, Peabody Museum and broke a lot of windows. None of associate curators. They which was allowed, except on rare were assisted by Molly occasion. In the early days, Native Fierer-Donaldson, graduate American and English youth also stud student in Archaeology, ied, side by side. Archaeological and and Christina Hodge, historical records of early Harvard Peabody Museum senior Students excavating outside Matthews Hall. Photo by Patricia bring to life the experiences of our curatorial assistant and Capor1e. predecessors, teaching us that not only graduate student in is there an untold story to be Archaeology at Boston unearthed, but also, that we may learn University. ALEXANDER MARSHACK new perspectives by reflecting on our Archaeological data recovered from ARCHIVE DONATED TO THE shared history: a history that reaches Harvard Yard enriches our view of the PEABODY MUSEUM beyond the university walls to local seventeenth- through nineteenth-cen Native American communities. tury lives of students and faculty Jiving The Peabody Museum has received the The Fall 2005 course Anthropology in Harvard Yard. In the seventeenth generous donation of the photographs 1130: The Archaeology of Harvard Yard century, Harvard Yard included among and papers of Alexander Marshack brought today's Harvard students liter its four buildings the Old College, the from his widow, Elaine. -
S O C I E T Y O F S O U T H E R N C a L I F O R N
May / June 2019May METALSOCIETY OF SOUTHERN ARTS CALIFORNIA Elise Preiss MASSC Member Spotlight PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE EDITOR’S NOTES Angelina Smith John Lemieux Rose Springtime Greetings! It’s a very exciting time of year for us Metalsmiths as there are so many upcoming events and fun times. I hope everybody had a chance to finish their entries for the 2019 Metals Challenge. The deadline was April 26th, Part of the mission of The Metal so if you didn’t finish in time, you aren’t alone. I didn’t finish either. But I Arts Society of Southern Califor- still can’t wait to see the pieces that did get completed in time. They will nia is promoting our members all be on display at the Metals Challenge Luncheon on June 2nd. Thats’s and work of Southern California right! This year’s Luncheon is JUST AROUND THE CORNER! June 2nd, artists. Of course, we do that 10:00 am - 2:30 pm in Westminster. Be sure to get your tickets. We will here in our newsletter, and I’ll take the opportunity to be announcing the winner of the Nancy Monkman “Jewelry Arts Dream” invite you to be one of our Featured Artists. Just email Scholarship. The Nancy Monkman Estate Sale was well attended, thanks me a couple of photos of your work to everybody who came and purchased things, and bigger thanks to the ( [email protected] ), and I’ll take it from there. folks who spent time helping to sort, price and organize the sale. You can also show us what you are up to on Insta- Very happy to report that we conducted another successful downtown jewelry district tour this year. -
2017-10 PGPI Newsletter
Portland Gold Prospectors, Inc. GPAA Portland, Oregon Chapter The Legend of El Dorado October, 2017 The Muisca raft (Balsa Muisca in dimensions of 19.5 cm x 10.1 cm Come join us at our Spanish), sometimes referred to and various figures on the raft, next meeting. as the El Dorado Raft, is an artistic the largest figure that stands in October 15th at 1:30pm. figure of pre-Columbian gold the middle apparently represents Milwaukie Grange hall votive, drafted by the Muisca who the chief, which is adorned with 12015 SE 22nd, Milwaukie, OR established one of the four grand headdresses, nose rings and The Portland Gold Prospectors civilisations in the Americas on the earrings, measuring 10.2 cm and meetings are the third Sunday of Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the is surrounded by his soldiers who every month beginning at 1:30pm. Eastern Ranges of the Colombian carry banners. All interested parties are invited Andes. to attend the monthly meetings. The raft was found by three Become a member of the Portland farmers in early 1969 in a cave Gold prospectors, Inc a chapter of in the village of the Gold Prospectors Association of Lázaro Fonte in the America. municipality of Pasca For info contact Jerry Johns, (Cundinamarca), [email protected] or visit www. Colombia in a ceramic portlandgoldprospectors.org. pot, adorned with a human figure whose Presidents Blog face has sharp teeth. The October 2017 priest of the municipality Fall is upon us and the chapter protected the piece until it is getting ready to have its last was acquired by Bogota’s outing of the year on Oct 8th. -
Indigenous Gold from St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: a Materials-Based Analysis
1 ABSTRACT INDIGENOUS GOLD FROM ST. JOHN, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: A MATERIALS-BASED ANALYSIS Stephen E. Jankiewicz, MA Department of Anthropology Northern Illinois University, 2016 Dr. Mark W. Mehrer, Director The purpose of this research is to examine the origin, manufacturing technique, function, and meaning of metals used during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries on the island of St. John, United States Virgin Islands. This project focuses on two metal artifacts recovered during National Park Service excavations conducted between 1998 and 2001 at a shoreline indigenous site located on Cinnamon Bay. These objects currently represent two of only three metal artifacts reported from the entire ancient Lesser Antilles. Chemical and physical analyses of the objects were completed with nondestructive techniques including binocular stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and particle-induced X-ray emission spectrometry with assistance from laboratories located at Northern Illinois University, Beloit College, Hope College and The Field Museum. This data will be combined with contextual site data and compared to other metal objects recovered throughout the ancient Caribbean. i NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DEKALB, ILLINOIS MAY 2016 INDIGENOUS GOLD FROM ST. JOHN, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: A MATERIALS-BASED ANALYSIS BY STEPHEN E. JANKIEWICZ ©2016 Stephen E. Jankiewicz A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY Thesis Advisor: Dr. Mark W. Mehrer ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not exist without the help and support of so many wonderful people. I am forever indebted to all of you. I would like to first thank my advisor Dr. -
Tarnish Resistance, Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gold Alloys
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Springer - Publisher Connector Tarnish Resistance, Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking of Gold Alloys WS Rapson Tarnishing, corrosion and stress corrosion cracking (SeC) of gold alloys are related phenomena. They present problems when they occur in gold jewellery, dental gold alloys and electronic devices. They are exploited, however, in the depletion gilding and finishing of gold jewellery; and in the extraction, refining and fire assaying of gold. There is still much that is not known about these phenomena, but a coherent picture of their mechanisms is emerging as a result ofstudies of not only gold alloys themselves, but also of other alloys. Aspects ofthis development are discussed. Tammann's extensive studies (1) established that the their metallurgical histories. Thus alloys which are resistance ofgold to tarnish and corrosion is not greatly homogeneous solid solutions and which do not reduced by the addition to it ofsilver and base metals, undergo separation into two immiscible solid phases are so long as the gold content of the resulting alloy is not in general more tarnish and corrosion resistant than below 50 at.%. This corresponds to about 15.6 carat those which are mixtures of two phases. In the latter for Au-Ag alloys and to about 18 carat for Au-Cu case, as exemplified by some nickel white gold alloys, alloys. the one phase may contain too little gold to make it Tammann's observations are of limited corrosion resistant. There is also the possibility of significance, however, when considering the resistance galvanic effects between the separated phases where the to tarnish and corrosion in the three areas in which this compositions of these differ significantly; and the property is of particular significance. -
The Licit and the Illicit in Archaeological and Heritage Discourses
CHALLENGING THE DICHOTOMY EDIT ED BY LES FIELD CRISTÓBAL GNeccO JOE WATKINS CHALLENGING THE DICHOTOMY • The Licit and the Illicit in Archaeological and Heritage Discourses TUCSON The University of Arizona Press www.uapress.arizona.edu © 2016 by The Arizona Board of Regents Open-access edition published 2020 ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-3130-1 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-4169-0 (open-access e-book) The text of this book is licensed under the Creative Commons Atrribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivsatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Cover designed by Leigh McDonald Publication of this book is made possible in part by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Field, Les W., editor. | Gnecco, Cristóbal, editor. | Watkins, Joe, 1951– editor. Title: Challenging the dichotomy : the licit and the illicit in archaeological and heritage discourses / edited by Les Field, Cristóbal Gnecco, and Joe Watkins. Description: Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016007488 | ISBN 9780816531301 (cloth : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Archaeology. | Archaeology and state. | Cultural property—Protection. Classification: LCC CC65 .C47 2016 | DDC 930.1—dc23 LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/2016007488 An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. -
Gilding with Kolner Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay by Lauren Sepp
Gilding with Kolner Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay By Lauren Sepp ’ve been asked many times by custom framing re- achieve different shades. The white Burnishing Clay tailers if there is an easier way to water gild and can be tinted with Mixol tinting agents up to 5 percent I burnish a surface, as it’s generally agreed upon that by weight to achieve any color you desire. traditional water gilding is a labor-intensive method. Both the Burnishing Clay and Insta-Clay can be Kolner products address that demand by streamlining applied to many different surfaces. Certain nonpo- the water gilding process, which would otherwise in- rous substrates require no sealing before application clude many more steps. of the clay: Plexiglas and other plastics, sealed woods, Kolner Products, based in Germany, formulated a nonporous paints, and lacquered metals. Unsealed water-based, single-layer, burnishable gilders’ clay for metals may require a primer. Smooth plastics and water gilding in 1985 called Kolner Burnishing Clay. metals may require a light sanding to promote good This product combines and replaces the glue size, ges- adhesion. Porous surfaces such as matboard, paper, so, and bole layers with a single product. The clay is parchment, raw wood, textiles, unglazed ceramics, premixed with an acrylic binder and only needs to be stone, plaster, traditional gesso and compo orna- thinned slightly and stirred. There is no heating, dis- ments require a sealer before applying the clays. In solving of glues, or straining. There is also a sprayable many applications, shellac is a good all-around sealer. -
Gilding Through the Ages
Gilding Through the Ages AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE PROCESS IN THE OLD WORLD Andrew Oddy Research Laboratory, The British Museum, London, U.K. In 1845, Sir Edward Thomason wrote in his not public concern but technological advance which memoirs (1) a description of a visit he had made in brought an end to the use of amalgam for gilding. to certain artisans in Paris and he commented: 1814 Gilding with Gold Foil `I was surprised, however, at their secret of superior Although fire-gilding had been in widespread use in gilding of the time-pieces. I was admitted into one gilding establishment, and I found the medium was Europe and Asia for at least 1 500 years when it was similar to ours, mercury; nevertheless the French did displaced by electroplating, the origins of gilding — gild the large ornaments and figures of the chimney- that is, the application of a layer of gold to the surface piece clocks with one-half the gold we could at of a less rare metal — go back at least 5 000 years, to Birmingham, and produced a more even and finer the beginning of the third millennium B.C. The colour'. British Museum has some silver nails from the site of Much to his disgust, Thomason could not persuade Tell Brak in Northern Syria (5) which have had their the French workmen to tell him the secret of their heads gilded by wrapping gold foil over the silver. superior technique, but it seems most likely that it This is, in fact, the earliest form of gilding and it lay either in the preparation of the metal surface depends not on a physical or chemical bond between for gilding or perhaps in the final cleaning and the gold foil and the substrate, but merely on the burnishing of the gilded surface. -
The Legend of Bogota by Mariordo (Mario Robertoby Mariordo Durán Ortiz)Via Wikimedia (Own Work) Commons
The Legend of Bogota By Mariordo (Mario RobertoBy Mariordo Durán Ortiz)via Wikimedia (Own work) Commons A golden Muisca raft The Muisca people of Colombia had an unusual line of succession for its zipas, or rulers. The zipa’s oldest sister’s oldest son always became the next zipa. Tisquesusa became zipa of the southern Muisca Confederation in 1514 after his uncle died. The Muisca Confederation was one nation of people that was ruled by different people in the north and south. Tisquesusa was as ready as he’d ever be. His family had just come out of mourning for his uncle. They had mummified him and buried him only a few short days before. Beside him in his royal tomb, they placed pottery, food, golden ornaments, and other necessities for the afterlife. Tisquesusa had spent the last days fasting and felt weak but purified. The ceremony was about to start. Tisquesusa solemnly boarded the raft with his attendants and the village holy men by the shores of Lake Guatavita. 1 © 2018 Reading Is Fundamental • Content created by Simone Ribke The Legend of Bogota When the water was about chest-deep, Tisquesusa dropped his ceremonial robe. He let the priests cover his body in a sticky sap. Then they covered him from head to toe in gold dust until he shone and sparkled like the Sun god himself. Tisquesusa submerged himself in the water, purifying himself for his people, for the quality of his reign, and for the goddess of the lake. The people on the shore and those on the raft began to throw gifts of gold and of emeralds into the lake.