How Goldleaf is Made

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 8, 21 February 1907, Page 19

How Goldleaf is Made

The "art/ of th'e'.goidbe'ater is one okthe oldest -. handicrafts in the world, and among those which have changed least. Much of the decoration of Solomon's Temple is believed to have been, covered with goldleaf, - hammered to- - the requisite thinness by hand, as ' it r is ""to-day.

vThe goldbeater receives his material not in the form of the 00-4wt. ingot, jln . which ■ it is cast, but . inline foxm of a "ribbon about/ Tin. wide -and 24 ft. long. The ribbon is first cut into 200 squares andplaced in -the 'cu^Lch,' which is a pile of square pieces of a peculiar paper, part animal and part vegetable in composition, the preparation' of which is - a secret. The best cutches are made in -London. A square of gold is placed between each two leaves, and the whole mass is ready for the first beating. ". This is done with an iron hammer, weighing from 12ft to 17ft, -while the cutch "rests .upon a granite block, which is supported by a heavy wooden post. Under the heavy, measured blows of the hammer the sheets of gold begin to stretch, or expand until, in half or three-quarters of an .hour, they have reached the edges of the cutch. They are then removed, and with a thin stiip of bamboo are out into quarters, so that the 200 pieces become 800. Next comes the ' shoder,' a collection of 800 pieces- of skin, 4 in. square, made from the intestines of cattle. As in the cutch, each piece of gold is placed between two leaves of skin, and bands of. parchment or vellum are slipped over the whole pile to keep it together. Another beating, this —time with a hammer-weigh-ing from Blb to' 10 lb, now follows. This takes about an hour, during ' -which the sheets of gold are, all the time expanding.

The last stage is the"* ' mold,' which, like 1 the^ cutch, and the shoder, is compose'd-of alternate leaves • of gold, and s'xin ; but the mold is about 5 in. square, and made up of goldbeater's - "skin. The p*repara/bion. of this is a jealously guarded trade secret.

The skin, like that in the shoder, is made from the intestines of the ox. " It is translucent, and not unlike rawhide in color. Although it will stand continuous beating without breaking, it will tear "live a sheet of thin paper. The making of a single mold requires the intestines of 500 bullocks. Between ' each two beatings- the skin is rubbed with baked and pulverised gypsum.

A mold contains 1000 sheets. After the second beating the workman takes from ' the shoder a single leaf of gold at a time, handling it with bamboo pincers,' and, when necessary, " smoothing it with a rabbit's foot. With the strip of bamboo he • cuts each sheet into quarters again, so that the original 200 have now become 3200. One shoder, therefore, contains / more

than enough gold to fill three molds. The final beating, in the mold, is done with a 7ft hammer, and requi-es from three to four 'hours. By this time the gold leaf should luakre expanidted a.^ain to the edge of the skins, and should be of the requisite thinness, which is determined by "holding it ,up to the light. It if transmits _green rays it is. done, and will measure about 280,000 th' of an inch in thickness. "

The hammers used "in beating gold are slightly convex on the face. The art of the workman consists iir* so striking that the gold will always be thinnest! in the centre. He must pound with - evenness - all over the square in order that the sheets of gold- may expared without losing their form ,; but at the same time

he must keep the thickest part near the edges, so that when the sheets are finally ■ trimmed to - size? ■ tpio ' thicker portions may fall in the waste, to be recast. No machinery has ever, been "devised which will do this successfully. The "-fools of the craft are interesting and peculiar.The rabbit's foot is exceedingly soft, and just oily enough to prevent the. gold- from- sticking, and - the bamboo 'pliers arid cutting' slips, are the only things with- .which it is possible' to do this delicate 1 work. The gold does not adhere to the fibres of the reed as- it does to steel. " - ■ , _ r The goldbeater performs all his work standing. The use of the heavy hammers in- such continuous pound- _/ ing, would, -one would think, impose an almost intolerable strain .upon the hands and arms. -The men say, however, that their arms never ache. The only place where" 'it catches them ' is ..in the bend of the knee. i The lack of strain upon the arms is accounted for by the fact that the hammer rebounds. It' is an astonishing but .by, no means a rare thing "to _see a goldbeater change hands while the hanimner is, in the air, and without losing a stroke. " •

At the time of the' census the ' bacon-cur ing establishments were 52 in number, employing 224 hands •; against 39, with 196 hands, in 1900. ' There is a steady' . increase observed in the value of the output, the' figures being £86,022 for .1895, £159,564 for 1900, and £253,937. for 1905. The business done in bacon now amounts to 56,831cwt, besides which; -ttee^e, was a large output .of *nams and lard. ~ ''"""" ~~ ' "*' What is known as * the MounV "Royal sticking-up case has had a most extraordinary sequel- (says the Palmerston 1 South ' Tim'QS ' ). About 'six weeks ago an employee at Mount Royal Station informed Con T stable Hilliard that on,; the previous evenings' he Hhali been waylaid by two men on the Mount -Royal road , and robbed of his watch' -and" chain. After spending, a day in investigating the matter the constable came ; to the conclusion that there was nothing in . the affair. His enquiries elicited the fac,t., } that the -vie* - tim of the alleged robbery was intoxicated, and was escorted - home by two residents of' Dunedin, who were camped near - the Goodwood^ Railway. Station during the holiday. • Constable Hilliard interviewed the two men, : , and while" they admitted that- they- had • assisted %fc&e informant part of the jway- to Mount ."Royal, racy stoutly denied having seen his' watoh and chain.. On Thursday last a young man named John" l>wyer was fishing near the Goodwood Railway Station, when he captured an immense eel; and on opening the fish he was s/urprised to fityd a wa^to and ch^in .4n its stomach. The^ articles were handed to Constable Hilliard, and as the chain consisted, of a collection of Italian coins, it was at once- identified as "the one alleged ,to. have • been siolen from the Mount Royal man six weeks previously. The' eel Tvas captured in a large water-hole, close to" where the two residents of Dunedin, previously ~ referred to, had camped. The ofiginar owner ~of Ihe watoh and. chain left the' tMstrict some weeks ago, and the police* are enquiring .as to his whereabouts.