A History of Gilding
by Frances Federer

Section of border glass for an English mirror, dated circa 1700.

European burial sites dating from the third and fourth centuries A.D. were found to contain glass medallions backed with engraved gold leaf. Laid onto the glass, using a thin organic glue, the leaf was engraved by removal with a sharp instrument, such as bone. The design was protected and colored by paint, maybe dark blue, or with a clear varnish.

Through history this work has gone in and out of fashion. Around 1700, when French craftsmen, patronized by royalty and trained to be the finest artisans in the world, fled France as Protestant persecution was at its height, many took their skills to England. At that time mirror manufacture was astronomically expensive, but labor was cheap. Magnificent decorated glass borders were made to enhance these mirrors, of intricate patterns and motifs popular for the day.

Around 1800 the Regency period in England favored rectangular architectural style mirrors. The frieze of such mirrors was frequently of decorated glass, to be known later as "Verre Églomisé." In the United States, 3000 miles distant, this fashion later developed extra flourishes. Glass panels were inserted at every opportunity on the frame, in addition to composition eagles, phoenixes and sheaves of wheat, whatever came to mind and wherever possible. In Britain economics were changing, and soon these intricate, labor intensive glass panels gave way to cast plaster or composition on board supports. The Industrial Revolution had arrived.

The Victorians revived the art when a Parisian art dealer, Jean Baptiste Glomy, realized he could protect silk work as well as prints by painted and gilded glass. We have in addition to this enterprising use of glass as his legacy, his name; thanks to him the technique we are describing is known as "Verre Églomisé," literally glomyised glass.

Verre Églomisé, English Regency mirror, dated circa 1820.

At its simplest a gold leaf stripe was laid, backed by black paint. Sufficient to protect and decorate at the same time, and a technique still employed today for traditional prints. In the early years of this century, up until Prohibition, across the United States the medium was used extensively and to a remarkable degree in advertising. The Breweries created magnificent traffic stopping signs, covering the sides of buildings. This fine art was just one of the casualties of Prohibition.

These days gilded glass is employed by knowledgable and sophisticated decorators. Virtually any design can be used on any glass surface, the only limit being the designers' imagination. There are so many alloys available now, we virtually have a palette of colours, from deep, warm gold to cold silver, not to mention all the different methods of backing up.

Suggestions for use are:

• Tables from coffee to dining
• Cupboard doors
• Mirrors
• Decorative panels
• Wall coverings, as wall "paper"

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