Gilding Demonstration + Shop Tours

Join us Saturday, June 25th for a public gilding demonstration and tours through the back rooms of our shop – a little like walking into the 17th century!

Few people know about what goes on regularly in the back rooms of our shop space, restoring and reproducing antique frames for collectors and museum clients. This summer we have a number of projects in process that illustrate almost every aspect of antique restoration and reproduction that GFAF is capable of, including gold leafing, hand-carving, casting, burnishing, and antiquing. Often, these projects involve historical research, custom millwork, and methods of material application that are centuries old. We use simple materials & simple tools. Rabbit skin glue, chalk, clay, wood, wax, water, and 22 K gold leaf. Knives, gouges, steel wool, fine sandpaper, and a “gilders tip” made of squirrel hair.

The craft of gold leaf gilding goes back over 4,000 years to Northern Africa where gold foil was applied to wood to give the appearance of being made of solid gold. The methods of gilding used today are rooted in ancient Egypt and were later refined during the Renaissance.