Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-07-25
ART OF GOLD BEATING
DINE OF THE OLDEST HANDIcRAETs
IN THE WORLD,

the oldest hnndicrafts In the world
nnd 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 thinncss by hand, us It
Is today.
The gold beatcr receives his material
not in the form of the sixty penny.
weight ingot In which 1t is cast, but
in the form Of n t!bbon about an inch
wide and twenty-four feet long. II
This ribbon is first cut into 200
squares and placed In the "cutch,a
which is II pile of square pieces Of a
peculiar paper, part animal and Dart
vegetable in composition, the prcparn-
ton Of which Is secret. The best
clutches are mndc In London. A squarb
Of gold is placed between each two
leavcs md the whole mass Is readt
for the first beating. II
I This in done with m iron hammer
weighing from twelve to seventeen
pounds, while the clutch rests upon,
granite block which Is supported by
heavy wooden post.
Under the heavy, measured blows or
the hammer the sheets of gold begin
to stretch or expand until in half Tor
hree-dunrtcrs OF IN hour they have
reached the edges Of the Clutch. They
are then removed and with q thin
strip OF bamboo are cut into quarters,
80 that the 200 pieces become 800.
Next comes tho "shodcr," collection
OF 800 pieces Of skin, four inches
square. made from the intestlncs Of
cattle. AS in the cutch each piece
of gold Is placed between two leaves
OF skin. md bands of parchment OF.
vellum are slipped over the whole pile,
TO keep it together. :.
Another beating, this time with a,
hammer weighing from eight to ten,
pounds, now follows. This takes about
IN hour. during which the sheets of
gold are oil the time expanding.
The last stage is the mold" which,
like the cutch and the shodcr, Is com,
posed of alternate leaves of gold md
skin, but the mold is about five inches
square and made up of gold bcater'sj
skin. The preparation of this Is jcal-.
ously guarded trade secret.
The skin, like that in the shoder. Is
made from the Intcstines of the OK. II
is translucent and not unlike rawhIde
In color. Although 1t will stand con
tinuous beating without brcnking, 1t,
Will tear Hike sheet of thin paper.
Tho making of single mold requires
the intestines of 500 buIlocks Between
each two beatings the skin Is rubbed
with baked and pulverlzed gypsum.
t,t.
the second beating the workman takcs
from the shoder single leaf Of gold ut
time, handling 1t with bamboo pinch
ers and, when necessary. smoothing
1t with rabbits foot. With the strip
of bamboo he cuts each sheet into quar-
tiers again. 80 that the original 200
have now become $500. One shodcr,
therefore, contains more than enough
gold to fill three molds. .s
The final beating In the mold is done
with n seven pound hammer and re-
quires from three to four hours. BY
this time the gold leaf should hive OK
pnnded hgain to the edge of the skins
and should be of the requisite thinness.
which Is determined by holding 1t up
to the light. II 1t transmits green rays
1T Is done and will measure about one
.two-hundred- and ghty- thousandth of
an Inch In thickness. 5
: Tho hammers used In beating gold
are slightly convex on the face The
art Of the workman consists In SO stril1-
Ing TINT the gold Will always be thin
nest In the center. lie must pound
with evenncss NIL over the square in
order TINT the sheets OF gold mny OK
;pand without losing their form, but at
the same time he must keep the thick.
est part near the edges, so that when
the sheets are finally trimmed to size
the thicker portions may full in the,
waste. to be'fecast. No machinery has
ever been devised which Will do this
successfully. /.
The tools Of tho craft are Interesting
and peculiar. The rabbits foot is ex-!
caedingiy soft md Just oily enough to
prevent the gold from sticking, and
the bamboo pliers md cutting slips
arc the only things with which 1t. is
possible to do this delicate work. The
gold does not adhere to the flbers Of
the reed rs 1t does to STEEL
The gold beaten performs all his
work standing. Tho use Of the henvy
hammers IN such continuous pounding
would. one would think. impose an nj,
most intolcrabie strain upon the hands
and arms. The men say, however,
that their arms never ache. The only
place where 1T catches them" Is in
the bend OF the knee. ,.s
The lack of strain upon the armse is
accounted for by the fact that the
hammer rebounds. 1t Is am astonish-
Ing but by no means q rare thing to- see
a gold beaten change hands while tho,
hammer Is in the air and without los.
ing q stroke. Edward Williston Trent1
in Youths Companion.
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