Editing Gilding (section)

{{short description|Covering an object with a layer of gold}}
{{for|the surname|Gilding (surname)}}
{{More citations needed|reason=Sections of this entry are entirely lacking in sources |date=June 2017}}
[[File:Gilded frame being burnished with agate tool.jpg|thumb|right|Gilded frame ready for [[burnishing (metal)|burnishing]] with an agate stone tool]]
[[File:Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Layer for Layer.ogv|thumb|right|Application of gold leaf to a reproduction of a 15th-century panel painting]]
'''Gilding''' is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of [[gold]] over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, [[porcelain]], or stone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://johncanningco.com/blog/gilding-in-architecture-when-where-why-it-was-used/|title=Gold Leaf in Architecture: When, Where, & Why It Was Used|access-date=25 October 2023|work=johncanningco.com|date=4 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328172849/https://johncanningco.com/blog/gilding-in-architecture-when-where-why-it-was-used/|archive-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was traditionally [[silver]] in the West, to make [[silver-gilt]] (or ''vermeil'') objects, but [[gilt-bronze]] is commonly used in China, and also called [[ormolu]] if it is Western. Methods of gilding include hand application and gluing, typically of [[gold leaf]], chemical gilding, and [[electroplating]], the last also called [[gold plating]].<ref>Sloan, Annie (1996) ''Decorative Gilding'', Collins & Brown, {{ISBN|978-0-89577-879-6}}</ref> '''Parcel-gilt''' (partial gilt) objects are only gilded over part of their surfaces. This may mean that all of the inside, and none of the outside, of a [[chalice]] or similar vessel is gilded, or that patterns or images are made up by using a combination of gilt and ungilted areas.

Gilding gives an object a gold appearance at a fraction of the cost of creating a solid gold object. In addition, a solid gold piece would often be too soft or too heavy for practical use. A gilt surface also does not tarnish as silver does.

Modern gilding is applied to numerous and diverse surfaces and by various processes.{{efn|For the techniques used in modern technology, see [[gold plating]].}} More traditional techniques still form an important part of [[Picture frame|framemaking]] and are sometimes still employed in general [[woodworking]], [[Cabinet (furniture)|cabinet]]-work, decorative painting and [[interior decoration]], [[bookbinding]], and ornamental [[leather]] work, and in the decoration of [[pottery]], porcelain, and [[glass]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=13}}