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Gilded frame ready for burnishing with an agate stone tool 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. [1] A gilded object is also described as "gilt".
Most metal threads are available in silver and sometimes copper as well as gold; some are available in colors as well. Goldwork is always surface embroidery and free embroidery ; the vast majority is a form of laid work or couching; that is, the gold threads are held onto the surface of the fabric by a second thread, usually of fine silk.
Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes alongside gold: [12] while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a native metal. [13] Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine".
The name is mostly applied informally to compositions between 20–80% gold and 80–20% silver, but these are strictly called gold or silver depending on the dominant element. Analysis of the composition of electrum in ancient Greek coinage dating from about 600 BC shows that the gold content was about 55.5% in the coinage issued by Phocaea.
There are three basic techniques that may be used to attach granules to a metal surface: hard soldering, fusing and colloidal soldering. The metals used in granulation are usually gold and/or silver alloys of high purity – alloys below 18 kt. gold and sterling silver being unsuitable. With each technique, the process begins with the making of ...
Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another—typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background—to produce intricate patterns similar to niello. The English term comes from a perceived resemblance to the rich tapestry patterns of damask silk .
Gold nugget A selection of precious metal elements; gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, ruthenium, rhodium, rhenium, osmium, iridium and mercury. They are labeled and arranged by their location on the periodic table. Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value.
The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry. "Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or". [2]