antique gilt bronze jewellery casket & miniature c.1870

This is a beautiful antique gilded ormolu serpentine shapedjewellery casket, Circa 1870 in date.

The top, front, sides and back are beautifully cast and tooled in gilt bronze. The rope outline frames delicate leaf work borders, the filigree decoration to the lid enclosing a finely painted miniature portrait bust on ivory of a young lady.The interior is lined with the original cream velvet and is ready to store your precious items and it stands on elegant casttoupiefeet.It is a lovely piece which is functional as well as being highly decorative.Condition:In excellent condition, the interior fabric shows signs of wear commensurate with age and use, please see photos for confirmation.Dimensions in cm:Height 5 x Width 16 x Depth 12Dimensions in inches:Height 2 inches x Width 6 inches x Depth 5 inches
Our reference: 07975WI
Ormolu
(from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-caratgoldin amercuryamalgamto an object ofbronze.The mercury is driven off in akilnleaving behind a gold-coloured veneerknown as'gilt bronze'.The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding orfire-gilding, in which a solution ofnitrate of mercuryis applied to a piece ofcopper,brass, or bronze, followed by the application of anamalgamof gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object.No true ormolu was produced in France after around 1830 because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury. Therefore, other techniques were used instead but nothing surpasses the original mercury-firing ormolu method for sheer beauty and richness of colour.Electroplatingis the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used onsilver, to producesilver-gilt(also known asvermeil).

Antiques.co.uk Ref: 5VFYEAVWT

Width (cm):

16

Height (cm):

5

Depth (cm):

12

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