The “oro di metà” Gilding in the Fifteenth-Century: A Multi-Analytical Investigation

Few and fragmentary is the information regarding the “oro di metà” (halfway gold) gilding due to the low probability of finding it in paintings as well as its short durability because of tarnishing. However, the very rare, excellent state of conservation of the gilding found in the fifteenth-century wood panel painting of the Master of St. Ivo studied in this work along with a multi-analytical approach allowed shedding light on the structure, the composition and the conservation state of this type of gilding. An Ultra-High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (UHR-SEM) along with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis and polarised light Optical Microscopy (OM) were employed in order to image and analyse a cross-section of a sample taken from the wood panel painting. Results highlighted a divided structure of the gilding which is constituted by two separated layers of gold and silver with different thickness. This is the first time that scientific evidence on this issue is provided. Moreover, considerations on the tarnishing process of the gilding were made. Finally, complementary vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as micro-Raman and micro-ATR-FTIR were employed in order to identify the molecular composition of the “bole” (gilding preparation layer) and the ground layers.