Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.t5.21

v1.c28.s8.t5.21

It is well-known that gilding can be done by one of the three methods: (1) gold-mercury amalgam is prepared and applied over the baser metal, and then the object is heated, (2) gold-leaf is pressed on the amalgamated surface and then the object is heated, (3) gold may be applied as a paint with a binder (‘cold gilding’). The first two methods known as ‘fire-gilding’ involve the use of mercury, a trace of which remains on the surface. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and emission spectrography have been utilised to detect gold and mercury on the surface. Craddock (1981: 26-30) found that out of 121 Tibetan icons/samples, 45 had been fire-gilt, but none of the 45 are dated earlier than the fourteenth century. The art of gilding was transmitted from India to Sri Lanka and Nepal around ninth-tenth century and reached Tibet a few centuries later.