page_title: Silver-gilt
section_title: Techniques
hierarchical_section_title: Silver-gilt / Techniques
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Nécessaire de la Princesse de Deux-Ponts Miroir de toilette Johann Jacob Kirstein (1733-1816, maître en 1760) 1786 Argent doré, glace au mercure et noyer H. 96,5 cm&#160;; l. 56,6 cm&#160;; P. 7,2 cm. Le miroir fait partie du nécessaire offert par Maximilien Joseph de Deux-Ponts, colonel-propriétaire du régiment d’Alsace à Strasbourg, à Augusta Wilhelmine de Hesse-Darmstadt (1765-1796), fille du comte Georges Guillaume de Hesse-Darmstadt et de Marie Albertine Louise de Linange-Heidesheim, à l’occasion de la naissance de leur fils ainé. Das Schloss Heidesheim bei Obrigheim (Pfalz) des gräflichen Hauses Leiningen-Heidesheim wurde 1794 durch Truppen der Französischen Revolution niedergebrannt.
context_page_description: Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gilt; for example most sporting trophies and many crown jewels are silver-gilt objects.
  Apart from the raw materials being much less expensive to acquire than solid gold of any karat, large silver-gilt objects are also noticeably lighter if lifted, as well as more durable. For objects that have intricate detail like monstrances, gilding greatly reduces the need for cleaning and polishing, and so reduces the risk of damage. Ungilded silver would suffer oxidation and need frequent polishing; gold does not oxidize at all. The "gold" threads used in embroidered goldwork are normally also silver-gilt.
context_section_description: Silver-gilt objects have been made since ancient times across Eurasia, using a variety of gilding techniques, and a distinctive depletion gilding technique was developed by the Incas in Pre-Columbian South America.  "Overlaying" or folding or hammering on gold foil or gold leaf is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (Bk vi, 232), and fire-gilding with mercury dates to at least the 4th century BC, and was the most common method until the Early Modern period at least, though dangerous for the workers and often caused blindness among French artisans who refined the technique in the 18th century. Today electroplating is the most commonly used method: it involves no mercury and is therefore much safer.  Keum-boo is a special Korean technique of silver-gilding, using depletion gilding.  In China gilt-bronze, also known as ormolu, was more common.
caption: Silver gilt toilet service by Johann Jacob Kirstein, 1786
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