A study of the technology of gilding on Maltese stone during the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

Gold has, for centuries, been extensively used in art produced all over the world, seen in art as early as Byzantine art and the Medieval period. Locally, gilding with gold leaf has been widely used in Malta and Gozo and may be noted in almost all local churches and palaces that were decorated in the Baroque period. Anyone who walks into a church or palace in Malta is almost immediately stuck by the impressive amount of gold present on the walls, frames and statues. The aims of this study include the identification of the different materials and techniques used to gild on stone in the Baroque period; the identification and analyses of any preparation layers; similarities and trends in gilding techniques and materials within two churches ‐ St John’s Co‐Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady of Victory and the possibility of “classifying” particular decorations. There have only been limited studies on gilding locally; therefore, an in‐depth study on this technique within the Maltese context is of great importance historically and for the preservation of Maltese heritage. Investigations entailed collecting historical information about two case studies (St John’s Co‐Cathedral and Church of Our Lady of Victory, both built and decorated during the time of the Knights of the Order of St John) from primary and secondary sources, in situ examinations and observations of the various gilt decorations and scientific analysis, aimed at understanding the inorganic and organic constituent materials of these gilt wall decoration. This study indicates that the process of gilding throughout the years was quite similar. There was a general method used to prepare the stone (using a primer, preparation layer and in some cases coloured ground). However, the study has also found that there was no consistent recipe used for this preparation layer and that gilders used existing and similar inorganic materials but experimented with organic substances. Moreover, this study also found the existence of two types of gilding used during the Baroque era within the two case studies; burnished and unburnished, indicating that gilders possibly used and experimented with different methods, materials and techniques for gilding on stone in this era.