What does gilt mean? How is it related to gold?

Gilding is a metal working process. Gilding is the synthesis of gold and mercury into a gold mercurial agent, applied to the surface of copper, and then heated so that the mercury evaporates, and the gold is attached to the surface of the vessel and does not come off.

Relation between gilding and gold: gilding requires the use of gold as a material.

The exact procedure of gilding process is to dissolve the gold wire or gold flakes with mercury to make gold clay before applying it to the surface of the object.

After this step is completed, mercury is used to volatilize the properties of heating and baking. The final coating of gold is left on the surface of the object.

The gilding process first originated in the late Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States period, and since then it has been applied to the decoration of small objects, the common types of which include hooks, copper rings, and pave heads.

Expanded Information

Gilding is a traditional Chinese craft created by the ancient working people in the course of production. Gilding in China began in the Warring States period, and China was also the first country in the world to use this technique. The gilding technique was first used in China during the Warring States period.

From the excavated artifacts, it is confirmed that the ancient people had mastered the gilding technique during the Warring States period.

From the "Chu Daiguanjie Zhongshan King Liu Sheng's Tomb" unearthed in Mancheng, Hebei Province, the gilding technology is quite mature. Gilding technology is not easy to master at once, it is the ancient working people of China in the production of labor through pioneering research, continuous exploration and summary to create this process.

From Xinyang Changtaiguan Chu Tomb unearthed "tripod", the shape of the early Warring States style features, the tomb unearthed gilt copper belt hooks, etc. are also for the early Warring States artifacts. Therefore, some experts and scholars believe that the initial time of gilt craft should be set at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period or the early Warring States period.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Gilt