Lay lines or no lay lines? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to lay the gold properly or talk the client into another gilding technique. Why lay lines? Who wants them? Lay lines are created in a gold leafed finish because when placeing the gold leaf, very, very thin, 3 3/8" X 3 3/8" squares, onto a surface the gilder overlaps the leaves a little. When the object begins to wear these over laps become apparent. They are in fact the areas that had two layers of gold. Natural wear is replicated often and when done to a leafed surface it can be called "toning". To decrease the reflective quality of the gold. Ah, toning, now therein lies the rub.

First let's look at toning. Toning can be described, among other things, as making an object look old. When Michelangelo had difficulty selling his drawings in a weak market he toned them, held them over a smokey fire so they would appear old and more desirable. Recreating the effects of time on an object is an awesome task. A table in its lifetime could have passed through a war or two, spent time with children, been abused by an irate goblet flinging queen. A Russian chair came into my care and had marks on the inside of the side rail that left my imagination little room to doubt that it had been pulled from a bonfire. Time has no regard for esthetics when it leaves its mark on things..

Lay lines could be considered an aesthetic way of portraying age on an object that is water-gilded. This truly is the rub because the gold will have to be laid perfectly and then rubbed through to expose the areas where the leaves of gold overlap. The optimum to shoot for aesthetically is evenly spaced lay lines, no patches, no wrinkled leaves, no tears and lay lines that enhance the shape of the object. In other words you must lay gold in a specific pattern. If you have had experience laying gold on flat straight mouldings for many years you may not feel that this is challenging in the least but, what if you had to gild carved surfaces, or only a small portion of an entire object that has already been gilt? Personally, I suffer anxiety. Some people just paint the lines in.

There are many things to consider when deciding whether your finished object should or should not sport lay lines. Aside from being limited to water-gilding (lay lines are not produced through wear in oil gilding) you need to know how much time you can afford to spend. How much your client is willing to pay you? You may be interested in whether or not lay lines are appropriate at all. How could the lay lines be place to further enchance the object? Would they detract if seen at all? A toning technique that just "deposits dirt" rather than "wearing""the surface could be a lot simpler and at times may be preferrable.

Where did the idea of lay lines come from anyway? When we first saw a lay line it was because an object had been rubbed and the gold was worn thin. When it was in good nick it may not have had any lay lines. When the craftsman made it he may have been very careful to cut and lay the gold in such a way that he or she got maximum coverage in the least amount of time. The lay lines were inherent in the piece because the craftsman had a lot of experience laying gold and had acquired a rhythmic gold laying technique producing rhythmic lay lines. I am sure he was as eager to get the piece out, invoiced and paid for as we are today. Now, time comes along and thins the gold. The piece was dusted, leaned against, handled. This is the part that perplexes. There was a time when a gilt object was sent out regularly for a "touch-up" or to be "regilt", which simply meant relaying gold where it was worn away. There was no electricity. The rooms were flooded with gilding when one could afford it because it reflected the candle light and made the room brighter. Some great homes even used yellow wall covering to help illuminate a room further. Another reason for gilding was to illuminate the object it framed. So why tone the gold? Does toning have anything to do with having electricity?

In a museum exhibition of Italian photographs there was a photo called "Gli Mani" (The Hands). It was of an old woman's hands, interlaced fingers, resting on the chest of a fairly young boy who was in the midst of picking or playing with his fingers as boys are prone to do. I cannot even remember if there were faces in the photo. The concept of age and what a lifetime does to a pair of hands moved me to tears. I can appreciate a good lay line as well as the next guy though I must say, it leaves one with a lot to think about.

Grace Baggot
September 20, 1994

Edited for "The Society of Gilders"
Newsletter the "Tip" '95
Edited for Picture Framing Magazine '97
Edited for FIT, City University of New York, Restoration Dept., Gilding Class '99