Gilding Techniques in Religious Art Between East and West, 14th -18th Centuries

Abstract

The paper proposes a short review on gilding techniques and materials from artifacts of religious heritage between 14th and 18th centuries, mainly gilt wood and gilded panel paintings. The study underlines the main aspects related to the use of certain materials and application techniques in different countries and époques, between Eastern and Western Europe, exemplifying with case studies of real gilded objects from Romanian, Greek, Russian and Portuguese ecclesiastic heritage. The contribution of some analytical techniques, such as optical, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies (OM, SEM, AFM), XRF and EDX spectroscopic analysis to the study of these objects is emphasized as well as the peculiarities of the obtained information.

Keywords

• gilding techniques
• European religious heritage
• analytical techniques