The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1905-04-01
ART OF GOLDB BEATING

AlCl VI UVADD IAllNU
ONE Of THE OLDEST HANDIcRAFTs
IN THE WORLD.
FAe Way . Little Square Of the Vel
low Metal 10 Expanded Into a
Large and Almost Transparent
Leaf by. the Artisans Hammers.
The art Of the gold beaten is one Of
the oldest handicrafts in the world
and among those which have changed
least. Much of the decoration of Solo
mons temple is believed to have been
covered with gold leaf, hammered to
the requisite thinness by hand, as it
ID today.
The gold beater receives his material
not in the form Of the sixty penny
weight ingot in which it is cast, but
n the form Of a ribbon about an inch
wide and twenty-four feet long.
This ribbon IL first cut into 200
squares and placed in the "cutch,"
which 10 a pile Of square pieces Of q
DDculiar paper, part animal and part
Vegetable In composition, the prepara-
ION Of which Is q secret The best
Stptches are made In London. A square
g gold is placed between each two
11fayes and the whole mass IS ready
III the first. beating. ,'. @
,ssd,his. IN done with IN iron hammer
Meighing from twelve to seventeen
tillapda. while the Clutch rests upon q
Esnite block which 10 supported ~
xfheavy wooden post g. ,.1.F1 -
i. Under the heavy, measured blows OF
Ne hammer the sheets Of gold begin
~tpastretchi or expand until In half or
fhree-quarters Of. an hour they have
reached the edges Of the clutch. They
IRE then removed and with q thin
strip Of bamboo = cut into quarters,
- that the 200 pieces become 800.
Next comes the ''shoder," a collection
e 800 pieces Of skin, four inches
square, made from the intestines Of
cattle. AS in the clutch. each piece
Of gold is placed between two leaves
Sf skin. and bands Of parchment or
ye1Aum are slipped over the whole pile
to keep 1t together.
Another beating, this time with a
hammer weighing from eight to ten
pounds, now follows. This takes about
m hour, during which the sheets Of
gold are all the time expanding.
The last stage is the ''mold," which,
like the clutch and the shoder, Is ON
posed of alternate leaves of gold and
skin. but the mold is about five inches
square and made up of gold beater's
skin. The preparation of this Is a jeal-
ously guarded trade secret.
The skin, like that in the shoder, is
made from the intestines Of the OK It
IL translucent and not unlike rawhide
In color. Although 1t will stand con-
Anuous beating without breaking, It
Will tear like q sheet Of thin paper.
The making Of q single mold requires
the intestines Of 500 bullocks. Between
each tw~ofoeatings the skin 10 rubbed
with baked and pulvcr;zcd gypsum.
q 4 mold contains 1000 sheets. Afher
tie second beating the workman takes
ffom the shoder a single leaf ofa gold at
a,time. handling Il with bamboo pinch
ess and. when necessary. smoothing
II with . rabbits foot. With tho strip
M bamboo he cut. each, saeet into guar
tefs again. 70 that the original 800
have now become $500. One shod&.
therefore. contains more than enough
gold to I'll three molds. n /,
The final beating In the mold 10 done
with a seven pound hammer and Re-
auires from three to four hours. BY
this time the gold leaf should have ex-
panded again to the edge Of the skins
and should be Of the requisite thinness,
which is determined by holding it up
to the light. II it transmits green rays
1t is done and will measure about one
Of
an inch in thickness.
The hammers used in beating gold
Are slightly conve on the face. The
art of. the workman consists in 20 strik-
ing that the gold will always be thin
nest in the center. He must pound
with eyenness all ove the square in
order that the sheets Of gold may ex-
pand without losing their form, but at
the same time he must keep the thick
est part near the edges, 10 that when
the sheets are finally trimmed to size
the thicker portions may fall in the
waste, to he recast. No machinery has
ever been devised which Will 10 this
successfully.
The tools Of the. craft are interesting
and peculiar. The rabbits foot ID eK-
ceesingly seft and Just ely enough to
prevent the gold from sticking. and
the bamboo pliers and cutting slips
are the only things With which; it 10
possible to dc this delicate work. The
gold does not adhere to the fibers Of
the reed as it does to steel.
The gold heater performs all his
work standing. The use Of the heavy
hammers in such continuous pounding
would, one would think, impose M, al
NEST intolerabie strain upon the hands
and arms The men say, however,
that their arms never ache. The only
place where ut catches them" is in
the bend Of the knee.
The lack Of strain upon the arms 10
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