Gold in the pottery industry

Abstract

The gilding of porcelain has been practised from the earliest days of its production, the permanence and brightness of gold naturally appealing to designers and manufacturers. Nowadays some five tons of gold are required annually for the decoration of porcelain and earthenware, and this article recounts the developments in gilding from the early closely guarded secret recipes to the current techniques involving not only some very complex organic chemistry but also a considerable degree of ingenious mechanisation of the processes, although the role of the skilled hand gilder is still in evidence on more expensive productions.