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T the Ancient Craft of Gilding Has Found a Niche in Modern Times

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T the Ancient Craft of Gilding Has Found a Niche in Modern Times Good By Eileenas Smith DallabridaGold he ancient Egyptians loved The ‘A skill well worth adding’ to decorate. As early as Of course, fewer gilders means more op- 2300 B.C., they were ancient craft portunity for those who have mastered the gilding their sar- of gilding has golden touch. cophagi—the earliest Kramer, for example, learned the trade examples of the art found a niche from a decorative painter in the 1970s, when form. They soon learned he was working his way through college. By that adhering a thin veneer of gold to chests, in modern the mid-1980s, then in business for himself, he Tchairs or other objects gave them the appearance decided to focus exclusively on gilding. His port- of solid gold at a fraction of the weight and expense. times. folio includes interior gilding at Lincoln’s Tomb and Even in today’s lackluster economy, gilding remains a the Washington Monument, as well as interior and exterior highly refined niche, with relatively few skilled artisans. finishes in the New York Life Building and the Church of In the restoration of Moscow’s opulent Bolshoi Theater, for the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. example, gilders have proved so hard to come by that proj- “It is a skill well worth adding to a painter’s portfolio,” ect managers are recruiting artisans from Ukraine. The Kramer says. “Professional painters pick up gilding better story is nearly the same in the U.S. than anybody, because they know coatings.” “With gilders, there is not much of a labor pool, except in Jorge Jimenez is a partner in Jimenez Custom Painting Inc., major cities such as New York,” says Michael Kramer, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., which specializes in painting up- founder of the Gilder’s Studio in Olney, Md., and president scale homes. Services also include wood graining, decora- of the Society of Gilders, a trade group headquartered in tive plastering and gilding. Minneapolis. “I first learned gilding while an apprentice working for a 38 PWC MAY/JUNE 2010 Michael’s Creations Photos: The Gilders’ Studio Inc. (Below) Gilder Michael Gross, of Dumfries, Va., achieved a luxe look on (Facing page) Aluminum leafing graces the acoustical ribbons and 50- this domed ceiling by combining composite leaf with metallic paint. foot-tall pipe organ—almost 10,000 square feet in all—at the Orange County (Calif.) Performing Arts Center. That work, and an additional 11,000 square feet in the lobby, were completed by The Gilders’ Studio Inc. of Olney, Md. Inset: The studio also gilded 22,000 square feet of roof something with a silver-like with 23.75K gold atop the New York Life Insurance Co. in Manhattan. appearance that is more for- company that also specialized in high-end residential wood giving, aluminum would be finishing,” he says. “After that, my brothers and I continued the way to go.” to learn more and practice until we started our own firm and Aluminum leaf is also eas- it became one of our specialties.” ier on the wallet; materials to cover 100 square feet would cost about $90. Silver prices ‘Beautify the universe’ out to about $335 for the same area. Where is gilding done in these lean times? In more places than you might think. Shopping the impostors Sandra Spannan’s projects have included a mansion that Still, all that glitters is not gold—or even silver. Compo- kept eight gilders busy for a year, adding such opulent details sition leaf—also known as schlagmetall or Dutch leaf—cre- as 23-karat gold leaf on the moldings in the maid’s room. ates a bright yellow metallic finish through a blend that is “It was quite amazing to see how the place changed from 86 percent copper and 14 percent zinc. a large, but regular, apartment into a true palace,” says Span- “It has the appearance of gold, but it isn’t,” says Larry Neu- nan, who is based in Manhattan. berg, president of Los Angeles-based Easy Leaf Products. To beautify La Prairie’s headquarters on Fifth Avenue, Despite gold’s higher cost, Neuberg says it offers signifi- Spannan gilded the conference room walls and furnishings cant short- and long-term benefits over composition leaf. with composition silver leaf. At Victoria’s Secret’s flagship “One tarnishes and the other doesn’t—and gold is easier store on Lexington Avenue, she added shimmer to the 800- to apply,” he says. “And you also have to consider that the square-foot dome with 12-karat white, a 50/50 blend of gold labor, the craft and expertise in laying the leaf costs far more and silver. than the materials.” “Stepping back from a long day of leafing only to see a In most installations, even a moderately trained eye will room or a wall or a ceiling totally transformed into some- be able to tell the real deal from the slick impostor. thing that reflects its surroundings in a subtle and very ele- “You can instantly recognize what you are looking at by gant way is a great feeling,” Spannan says. “Those are the the size of the leaf, whether it is the moldings in a ballroom moments when I feel like I am here to help beautify the uni- or a picture frame at the Louvre,” Neuberg says. verse.” Typically, gold is sold in sheets that are 3 3/8 inches square. Composite is made in slightly larger sheets, 5 ½ Costs and alternatives inches square. A little bit of gold goes a long way. In theory, one cubic “I always used a paper cutter to custom-cut composition inch of gold can be hammered out to produce a sheet 12 feet See GILD on next page wide and 100 yards long. (Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered or cut into very thin sheets.) At 1/40th the thick- A Gilder’s Glossary ness of a sheet of loose-leaf notebook paper, the gold is so Like painters and paperhangers, gilders speak a common thin that a reader could scan the newspaper headlines language. Here are a few snippets of the lingo. through it. Even that thin, however, gold remains a pricey proposi- Bole: Adhesive of refined red clay and glue tion. With gold prices in excess of $1,000 an ounce, the cost Burnisher: Tool with agate or other stone tip used to of leaf has more than doubled in the past several years, says create a polished surface Peter Sepp, president of Sepp Leaf Products Inc., based in Dragon’s blood: Tree resin used to give lacquer a ruby tone New York. To gold leaf 100 square feet, expect to pay about Gesso: Adhesive of refined chalk and rabbit-skin glue $1,500 for materials. Mordant: Gum, size or other adhesive material As a less expensive alternative, some artisans are turning Skewing mop: Large, soft brush used to tamp away leaf to silver. But unlike gold, silver can tarnish. fragments “Silver is problematic, because it oxidizes if the installa- Tip: Wide, flat brush for manipulating leaf tion is not impeccable,” Sepp says. “If you were looking for Verre eglomise: Process for gilding the back side of glass WWW.PWC-MAGAZINE.COM PWC 39 GILD from last page gold with it.) leaf, which only used to come in larger sizes and was there- Indoors, without fore very obviously fake,” Spannan says. the stresses of sun, These days, it is easier to fool the eye. Instead of trimming snow and rain, gild- her own, Spannan now buys composition leaf from Sepp ing can last for cen- that is already cut into the size of precious-metal sheets. turies if people keep their hands—and Powder power cleaning supplies— To provide bling for less ching, Easy Leaf has rolled out off the surface. a line of bronzing powders and mica powders. The bronz- “I’ve seen water ing powders are made from metal particles, including alu- gilding on funerary minum, copper and zinc, in a variety of colors and sheen ornaments from levels ranging from pearlescent to sparkling. Mica powders Egypt that is 5,000 blend mica with natural pigments for an earthy shimmer. years old and still Both products include mixing mediums. looks good,” Kramer “These products provide a subdued sparkle for a fraction says. of the price of leaf and don’t require a high level of skill to To create a luxuri- apply,” Neuberg says. ous look on a con- strained budget for a Making it last large interior dome, Gilding is categorized as either water gilding or oil gild- Michael Gross of ing, depending on the composition of the size, or adhesive Sandra Spannan Michael’s Creations Top: Sandra Spannan of Manhattan applied material, to which the leaf is applied. composition gold leaf over red paint at in Dumfries, Va., Properly applied, gold leaf should last 40-50 years in an Mango, a store in New York's Soho district. combined compos- exterior application, Kramer says. (The golden rule: Never Bottom: Spannan shows off silver composi- ite leaf with metallic tion leaf gilding of the walls and furniture in apply a protective coating on exterior gilding. When the a New York conference room. plaster and metallic cover coat breaks down due to the elements, it will take the paint. “Allowed some artistic freedom, I textured the ceiling in varied metallic plasters; gilded the design in silver, gold, Where to Learn copper and variegated Dutch leaf; and added flexible crown The Society of Gilders organizes hands-on training and trim painted in Modern Masters gold metallic paint to throughout the year.
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