17th Century Frame Carved and Gilded Mecca Wood

Frame

Carved and gilded mecca wood, 67 x 92 cm

Light 45 x 71

The frame in question is gilded mecca wood, carved with leaf decorations on two orders interspersed with a smooth throat and ribbon.

Mecca gilding is an ancient practice that allows you to obtain a gilding using silver leaf instead of gold. This is because gold is much more expensive, and in ancient times there were still no imitation gold leaves in use today. It was therefore cheaper to use silver which was then treated with a special paint, namely the mecca. This is an alcohol-based paint, shellac, natural resins and oxides, which gives various shades of gold depending on the dosage. This technique was mainly used for frequently used objects such as frames, chairs and furniture but also stucco.

We can note similarities with the carved and gilded wooden frame and the bulinata gorge of Roman scope of the seventeenth century and the frame, still of Roman scope of the late seventeenth century both present in the market. Similar is also a frame of Emilian ambit, however, always of the seventeenth century that presents a pattern very similar to carving on two orders interspersed with a smooth throat as in the frame examined here.