Antique dealers and collectors will often refer to silver-gilt frames as "lemon gold" frames. It sounds classier than silver, apparently. This type of finish became popular in the early nineteenth century, primarily from German manufacturers. To create them, the frame or molding was gilded with silver leaf, using traditional water gilding technique. A tinted shellac (as well as other options) created the effect of gold. This finish ages differently from a traditional gold leaf finish, and has its own distinct charm. In the Nineteenth Century, “Lemon Gold” frames were very popular, and are prized today for framing antique or reproduction art such as theorems.
The pictures show a sample stick in progress, to test finishes for what will be two large frames. The first picture shows the silver leafing, with a distressing and chemical spatter to create the effects of age. A color finish will be built up using tinted shellacs (and just when I want to use shellac, we are in the middle of another hot, humid spell of weather).
The method described here is based on a workshop given by Michael Gilbert, of Maryland.
No comments:
Post a Comment