What did Mercury Gilding / Fire-Gilding look like?

The object has a golden surface. The gilded layer bonds firmly with the substrate and can be polished to a mirror-like shine.

How did Mercury Gilding / Fire-Gilding work?

Gold leaf cut into pieces + mercury → ground into gold-mercury amalgam (gold mud) → brushed onto the copper/silver surface → low-temperature baking → mercury evaporates → gold atoms remain on the surface → burnished with agate tools.

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鎏金工艺

Mercury Gilding / Fire-Gilding

Mercury gilding (fire-gilding): dissolving gold in mercury to form an amalgam paste applied to the surface, then heating to evaporate the mercury, leaving a gold layer.

鎏金工艺

Scientific Principle

Amalgamation: gold dissolves in mercury forming Au-Hg alloy. Thermal decomposition: Hg(l) → Hg(g)↑. Gold's melting point (1064°C) is far above mercury's boiling point, so gold does not evaporate.

鎏金工艺

Mercury Gilding / Fire-Gilding

Scientific Principle

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