A Golden History
“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver and gold” – Bob Marley
Gold has been adorned by kings, emperors and pharaohs for centuries. Egyptians thought the precious metal were the skin of the Gods, bestowed upon them as a gift. In ancient Greece, gold was supposed to make one immortal and wealthy. In many countries, it was withheld from the masses and only royalty and their kin could wear it.
Gold had many uses besides just wearing it as jewellery. In a lot of ancient art, gold was pressed and hammered into thin, delicate sheets called gold leaf. Gold leaf was then used to represent holiness, like the halo around Mary, as seen in the Madonna in Maestà. It was also used in the pyramids where the Pharaohs were laid to rest. Certain rooms were decorated with gold leaf to represent God’s favour shining on the Pharaoh for eternity.
Fun Fact: In 16th century France, a mixture of urine, fennel, gold and other metals was consumed as an anti-aging elixir for the elite. This mixture would cause chronic intoxication and later prove fatal.
Around the 15th century, a technique called Kintsugi took Japan by storm. Kintsugi or kintsukuroi translates to ‘gold repair’ and the technique involves broken ceramics, gold or silver dust and the sap from the varnish tree. This sap was so strong, it was commonly used as an adhesive for weapons.
It is thought that the technique was invented when the Eighth Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune sent his favourite tea cup to be repaired in China. The tea cup came back mended but was aesthetically and practically unsound because it was repaired with unsightly grey staples. Instead of trashing his favourite cup, He passed it on to his Japanese craftsmen to see if they could do better. The craftsmen knew how special the teacup was so they decided to turn the cup into a piece of art that the Shogun could use and admire.
They used the varnish tree sap to glue the broken pieces back together then added gold dust to the seams to create an original piece that told a story. Tokugawa was so impressed, he told all his friends, who were also high ranking officials, about the story of his teacup and the word spread. The craftsmen were fully booked from then on as it was said that some customers purposely broke their china just to get it repaired by them!
Kintsugi is held in such regard because it shows that just because something is broken doesn't mean it is unusable. With a bit of work, it can be made into an exceptional jewel, The scars are what make the art.
