부산대학교 도서관

The decoration of works of art and architecture with gold or silver or other metals. Traditionally the term describes the application of thin sheets of metal to a surface by means of an adhesive; it is also possible to use the metal in powdered form. See also Conservation of gilding. Jo Kirby The earliest application of gold as decoration was in Mesopotamia and in Predynastic Egypt. In gilded figures from Ur (dating from before 2500 bce) and from Egypt (c. 2400 bce), sheet gold was nailed to a wooden core, but by 1500 bce leaf gold was being applied to a variety of materials, notably ivory (known as chryselephantine work; see also Greece, ancient, §IV, 1(iii)(g)). Silver leaf has been extensively used, both on its own and, covered with a golden yellow transparent coating, as a substitute for gold, despite the fact that it tarnishes. Written sources from as early as the late 3rd century ...