Everything about Metal Leaf totally explained
Metal leaf is a thin foil used for decoration. It is also called Composition leaf or Schlagmetal. Metal leaf can come in many different shades. Some metal leaf looks like gold leaf but doesn't contain any real gold; this is often referred to as imitation leaf.
Process
Metals that are made into metal leaf need to be highly
malleable. They can be pounded into sheets well below a
micrometre in thickness without breaking or tearing. The typical thickness of gold leaf is about 100
nanometres or 0.0001 mm. When made by hand, small pieces of metal are placed between sheets of
parchment and pounded repeatedly with wooden mallets. As the metal thins out, it forms large sheets. These sheets are divided and the process repeated. The final sheets of metal are trimmed, cut to various sizes, and sandwiched between sheets of paper to protect them. At a thickness of 100 nm, one
square metre of gold leaf corresponds to 0.1
cubic centimetre or just 2
grams of gold. In
Imperial measurements, one
ounce (28 g) of gold corresponds to about 200
square feet (about 20 m
2) of gold leaf.
Uses
Decoration
Metal leaf is most often used for decoration. Before the discovery of
electroplating it was the only cost effective way to
gild statues, rooftops or other objects.
A good example of exterior use of gold leaf is on the Dome and the statue of Mary atop the Main building on the campus of the
University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, IN
Confection
In some cultures Gold and silver leafs are considered non-toxic when labeled as food-grade and so can be used to
decorate food (such as cake) or drink. They can be often found in a number of desserts including chocolates and
Mithai. A recent trend has been the inclusion of floating bits of gold leaf in liquors such as
Goldschläger.
In Asian countries, gold is sometimes used in various foodstuffs. It was also used in coffee, especially during Japan's
Bubble economy.
Gold leaf
Gold leaf is
gold that's beaten into extremely thin sheets. The thin gold sheets are commonly used for
gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of
karats and shades. 23-karat gold is the most commonly used.
Gold leaf is sometimes confused with
metal leaf but they're different products. The term
metal leaf is normally used for thin sheets of metal of any color that don't contain any real Karat gold. 24 Karats is pure gold. Real yellow gold leaf is about 92% pure gold. Silver colored white gold is approximately 50% pure gold.
Layering gold leaf over a surface is sometimes called
gold leafing, and is a very common form of
gilding.
Uses in gilding
Gold leafing in art
Gold leaf has traditionally been most popular and most common in its use as
gilding material for decoration of art (including
statues) or the
picture frames that are often used to hold or decorate paintings,
mixed media, small objects (including
jewelry) and paper art. "Gold" frames made without leafing are also available for a considerably smaller price, but traditionally some form of gold or metal leaf was preferred when possible and gold leafed (or silver leafed) moulding is still commonly available from many of the companies that produce commercially-available moulding for use as picture frames.
Water gilding
Traditional
water gilding is the most difficult and highly regarded form of gold leafing. It has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, and is still done by hand.
Culinary uses
In some cultures
gold (and
silver) leaf is considered non-
toxic when labeled as food-grade and so can be used to decorate food or drink. Such a leaf is called
Vark. They can be often found on a number of desserts including chocolates and
mithai.
In Asian countries, gold in particular is sometimes used in fruit
jelly snacks. It was also used in coffee, especially during Japan's "
bubble economy". In
Kanazawa, where Japan's gold leaf production was centred, gold leaf shops and workshops sell
green tea and hard candy with gold leaf within.
A recent trend in the US has seen the inclusion of floating bits of gold leaf in liquors such as
Goldschläger. However, in
Continental Europe liquors with such bits of gold leaf are known since the late 16th century. A well-known example is
Danziger Goldwasser, originally from
Gdańsk, Poland, which has been produced since at least 1598.
In Italian food gold leaf is currently used by famous chefs, such as Gualtiero Marchesi, for new food concepts of a new way of cooking:
nouvelle cuisine.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Metal Leaf'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://metal_leaf.totallyexplained.com">Metal leaf Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
