How to tell a gold leaf frame from a gold-colored one
Jerry Polizzi ·
Gold leaf is real metal, beaten thin and laid over a prepared moulding. Gold paint is a coat of paint. Across a room they can look alike. Up close, and after a few years, they do not.
Polizzi carries large hand-carved mouldings finished in 22-carat gold leaf. The leaf is quoted in the shop. The size, the carving, and the condition of an old frame all change the work, so a number on a screen would be a guess.
What to look for
- Leaf shifts as you move. The metal catches light at a changing angle. Paint stays flat and even.
- A chip in leaf usually shows a colored ground under the metal. A chip in gold paint often shows a white or gray undercoat.
- Real gold does not tarnish. Brass and other composition leaf darken in the recesses, sometimes toward brown or green. That darkening means the metal was not gold.
- A finish labeled antique gold, or gold finish, is naming a color.
When the leaf is the right frame
Leaf is the frame for a portrait, a mirror, or a print that wants a deeper edge than metal can give. A film poster often looks better in black or stained wood. A thin gold-colored moulding on a large sheet can look like an afterthought. The room decides it as much as the picture does. Bring a photograph of the wall.
An old gold frame
Wear on an antique frame can be part of its age. Painting over dull leaf to brighten it hides the metal and is miserable to undo. The shop restores antique frames. If you want new leaf, send the dimensions and a photograph, or bring the frame to Third Avenue. Gold leaf frames explains how that quote works.
These notes are the advice we give across the counter. They are not an appraisal and not a conservation report.
Questions
Is 22-carat leaf solid gold?
It is a thin layer of gold over a moulding, not a solid gold frame. Twenty-two carat means the leaf is mostly gold. The moulding underneath is wood.
Can gold leaf go on a frame I already own?
If the frame is a candidate, Jerry will say so from the frame or from a photograph. Gold leaf is quoted by consultation. Size, carving, and condition all change the work.
Is a gold frame always the better choice?
No. Metal or stained wood is often the right frame for a poster or a photograph. Leaf earns its place when the work and the room want that depth.