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Gold leaf
Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 μm thick) by a process known as goldbeating, for use in gilding.
Gold leaf is a type of metal leaf, but the term is rarely used when referring to gold leaf. The term metal leaf is normally used for thin sheets of metal of any color that do not contain any real gold.[citation needed] Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 23-karat gold.
Traditional water gilding is the most difficult and highly regarded form of gold leafing. It has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years and is still done by hand.
5,000 years ago, Egyptian artisans recognized the extraordinary durability and malleability of gold and became the first goldbeaters and gilders. They pounded gold using a round stone to create the thinnest leaf possible. Except for the introduction of a cast-iron hammer and a few other innovations, the tools and techniques have remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.[citation needed]
Gold-leaf forging is a traditional handicraft in Nanjing (China), produced as early as the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD) and Two Jins (266–420) dynasties; it was used in Buddha-statue manufacturing and construction. It was widely used in the gilding of Buddha statues and idols and in the construction industry during the Eastern Wu (222–280) and Eastern Jin (266–420) dynasties. During the Qing dynasty (1640–1912), the technology developed, and Nanjing gold leaf was sold overseas. It retains traditional smelting, hand-beating and other techniques, and the gold leaf is pure, uniform and soft. On May 20, 2006, it was included[citation needed] in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative items. Modern gold-leaf artists combine ancient traditional crafts with modern technology to make traditional gold leaf. Forging skills are more sophisticated. Gold-foil production in Nanjing follows the ancient production process.[citation needed] The forging process has been tempered[clarification needed] by more than a dozen processes such as gold bar, leaf beat, twisting, opening, assembly, issuing, and foil cutting. It is also called[citation needed] "playing gold leaf". According to the needs of different products, a proportion of silver and copper is added; the metal is then melted into liquid form, poured into an iron tank, cooled to form gold bars, hammered into thin slices, cut into small gold pieces, and then covered with gold foil and hammered into gold foil repeatedly at high temperature.
The process of hammering gold into leaf is known as goldbeating.
The karat and color of gold leaf vary depending on the amount of silver or copper added to the gold. Most goldbeaters make 23 karat leaf. The gold and its alloy are put in a crucible and melted in a furnace. The liquid gold is poured into a mold to cast it into a bar. The bar of gold is put through a rolling mill repeatedly. Each time through the mill, the rollers are adjusted closer and closer to each other, to make the gold thinner and thinner. The bar is rolled to a thickness of 25 micrometres (1⁄1000 in).
After rolling, the ribbon of gold is cut into 2.5-centimetre (1 in) squares. The first step in the beating process is called the cutch. The cutch is made up of approximately 150 skins. In the early days of the trade, ox intestine membrane (Goldbeater's skin) was used to interleave the gold as it was beaten. Today other materials, such as Mylar, are used. Using wooden pincers, the preparer picks up each square of gold and places it in the center of each skin. When the cutch is filled with the small gold squares, it is wrapped in several bands of parchment which serve to hold the packet together during the beating. Parchment is still the best material known to withstand the hours of repeated hammer blows needed to beat the gold.
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Gold leaf AI simulator
(@Gold leaf_simulator)
Gold leaf
Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 μm thick) by a process known as goldbeating, for use in gilding.
Gold leaf is a type of metal leaf, but the term is rarely used when referring to gold leaf. The term metal leaf is normally used for thin sheets of metal of any color that do not contain any real gold.[citation needed] Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 23-karat gold.
Traditional water gilding is the most difficult and highly regarded form of gold leafing. It has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years and is still done by hand.
5,000 years ago, Egyptian artisans recognized the extraordinary durability and malleability of gold and became the first goldbeaters and gilders. They pounded gold using a round stone to create the thinnest leaf possible. Except for the introduction of a cast-iron hammer and a few other innovations, the tools and techniques have remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.[citation needed]
Gold-leaf forging is a traditional handicraft in Nanjing (China), produced as early as the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD) and Two Jins (266–420) dynasties; it was used in Buddha-statue manufacturing and construction. It was widely used in the gilding of Buddha statues and idols and in the construction industry during the Eastern Wu (222–280) and Eastern Jin (266–420) dynasties. During the Qing dynasty (1640–1912), the technology developed, and Nanjing gold leaf was sold overseas. It retains traditional smelting, hand-beating and other techniques, and the gold leaf is pure, uniform and soft. On May 20, 2006, it was included[citation needed] in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative items. Modern gold-leaf artists combine ancient traditional crafts with modern technology to make traditional gold leaf. Forging skills are more sophisticated. Gold-foil production in Nanjing follows the ancient production process.[citation needed] The forging process has been tempered[clarification needed] by more than a dozen processes such as gold bar, leaf beat, twisting, opening, assembly, issuing, and foil cutting. It is also called[citation needed] "playing gold leaf". According to the needs of different products, a proportion of silver and copper is added; the metal is then melted into liquid form, poured into an iron tank, cooled to form gold bars, hammered into thin slices, cut into small gold pieces, and then covered with gold foil and hammered into gold foil repeatedly at high temperature.
The process of hammering gold into leaf is known as goldbeating.
The karat and color of gold leaf vary depending on the amount of silver or copper added to the gold. Most goldbeaters make 23 karat leaf. The gold and its alloy are put in a crucible and melted in a furnace. The liquid gold is poured into a mold to cast it into a bar. The bar of gold is put through a rolling mill repeatedly. Each time through the mill, the rollers are adjusted closer and closer to each other, to make the gold thinner and thinner. The bar is rolled to a thickness of 25 micrometres (1⁄1000 in).
After rolling, the ribbon of gold is cut into 2.5-centimetre (1 in) squares. The first step in the beating process is called the cutch. The cutch is made up of approximately 150 skins. In the early days of the trade, ox intestine membrane (Goldbeater's skin) was used to interleave the gold as it was beaten. Today other materials, such as Mylar, are used. Using wooden pincers, the preparer picks up each square of gold and places it in the center of each skin. When the cutch is filled with the small gold squares, it is wrapped in several bands of parchment which serve to hold the packet together during the beating. Parchment is still the best material known to withstand the hours of repeated hammer blows needed to beat the gold.