Shell gold

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In

gold-ground painting or other gilded object. The name comes from the medieval habit of using sea-shells to hold pigments and paints (of all colours) while painting. In painting it was usually used for details and highlights.[1]

A common source is the collecting and processing of flakes of elemental gold that have flaked away from a surface during the process of gilding it. Once the flakes of leftover gold (called "skewings") have been gathered, they are mixed with a small amount of honey and ground together with a

deionized water. Following the final rinse, the flakes are left to dry. Once the water has nearly evaporated, a drop of concentrated gum arabic is added and mixed into the flakes, creating a basic paint with gold flakes/ dust as pigment. The paint may be applied to a surface using either a brush or the tip of a finger, and can be "reactivated" by only the moisture in an exhaled breath of air.[2]

Shell gold and powdered gold are the two principal forms of gold used for making repairs in a surface which has been previously gilded but has been damaged. Shell gold does not require any sizing, where as powdered gold does.[2]

References

  1. ^ Nuechterlein, Jeanne, "A brief overview of gilding techniques", in "From Medieval to Modern: Gold and the Value of Representation in Early Netherlandish Painting", 2013, University of York, Department of History of Art, History of Art Research Portal, online (or PDF)
  2. ^ . Retrieved 9 January 2019.