| Book-binding |
For more than 1,000 years extensive use has been made of gold in the binding and decoration of manuscripts and books, especially those of a religious nature. The oldest gold bindings date from the seventh century, when a fine sheet of gold, set in eight cameos in the form of a cross, was used on the front cover of the Gospels of Theolinda.
Gold being stamped into a
leather book cover
(Credit: World Gold Council)
The art of applying lacquers containing powdered gold to leather originated in the Middle East, especially in Persia and spread through Italy to all of Europe in the early sixteenth century. Originally a light brush or pen was used to embellish book covers but the craftsmen of Venice developed a new technique of hot gilding with gold leaf by means of a heated die stamp on to leather which had been treated with a mordant, or fixer, of egg white and white vinegar whisked together.
Geometrical and floral patterns adorned the books in the libraries of the Medici and Visconti and other great families of Renaissance Italy. The art reached its zenith in book-binding for many of the libraries of Europe over the next two centuries.