Gold

Nice exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace looking at gold, it’s uses and the techniques for working it.

Gold is thought to be the first metal discovered by man and has always been associated with the high status people and the divine because it does not deteriorate. The first section looked at gold an royalty and included an Ecuadorian crown and a lion’s head from an Indian princes throne as well as looking at the Coronation of British Monarchs via a lovely picture of Queen Victoria’s coronation.

The next section looked at the artists meaning of gold in art with a lovely picture by Reymerswaele of two misers to show avarice and how artists have shown the gold light of sun rise and sunset.

An substantial part of the show looked at how gold has been worked with the earliest object being the Rillaton Cup dating from1700-1500 BC which was probably worked with stones. It was shown next to a lovely picture by William Nicholson of a gold cup to show artists represent gold in pictures.

The final section looked at gold in sacred gold and includes a mockup of an altar. There were lovely pictures using gold backgrounds by Duccio and Daddi.

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