Water gilding is a process which makes wood look like gold. Follow the stages involved in gilding a wooden frame – from brushing on layers of gesso (glue and chalk mixture), to applying and burnishing the gold leaf.
How was it made? Water gilding
How was it made? Water gilding
![Background image: Trophy frame (detail), carved and gilded, probably Paul Petit, about 1751, England. Museum no. W.35,2-1972. © Victoria and Albert](https://assets-cdn.vam.ac.uk/2017/09/19/10/11/38/82a16c2d-4233-46ef-86d0-1dd80ee8d4af/frames-poster.jpg)
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Frame, Thomas and René Pelletier, 1709 – 1711, England. Museum no. W.2-1999. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London