Gilded furniture is furniture whose surface is wholly or partly covered with gold leaf, giving the effect of solid gold. The term usually refers to carved wooden pieces, often called giltwood, such as mirrors, console and pier tables, chairs, sofas, stands and picture frames, though gilt decoration was also applied to painted and lacquered furniture.
The traditional method is water gilding, in which carved wood is coated with layers of gesso, smoothed and recut, then covered in a coloured clay called bole before the gold leaf is laid and selected areas are burnished to a high shine. Oil gilding, using an oil-based size, is more durable but cannot be burnished. Gilded furniture was a feature of grand interiors across Europe, especially in the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical periods, with designers such as William Kent and Robert Adam in England creating gilded suites for state rooms. In France, giltwood chairs and console tables were a speciality of Paris workshops. Original gilding with gentle wear, revealing the red or yellow bole beneath, is generally preferred to later regilding, and collectors check for losses to carving and gesso. Gilded pieces bring light and warmth to any room.
