goldbeating
Quick Summary
Goldbeating is the art and process of hammering gold into extremely thin leaves, known as gold leaf. This ancient technique has remained largely unchanged. The process begins with an ingot of gold alloy, which is rolled into a thin ribbon, cut into squares, and then hammered repeatedly between sheets of paper and parchment. This is done in successive stages until the gold reaches a thickness of about 0.001 mm.123
The resulting gold leaf is incredibly delicate and is used for gilding, which is the application of gold to various surfaces like wood, metal, glass, and ceramics. This art form has a long history, with evidence of its use found in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. A person who performs this craft is called a goldbeater.1234
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
