19 Aug 2024

All that glitters: conservation of gilded frames

Written by Lesley Scott ACR, Regional Conservator (Edinburgh & East)

Three young women sit at a table, leaning over a gilt composition frame, cleaning dirt from it using cotton wool swabs.

The Edinburgh Collections Care team undertaking training in cleaning gilt frames

Our fifth blog in the Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion series takes a look at the conservation of the gilded frames that contain artworks for the exhibition – a great opportunity for skills development for collections care staff and volunteers.

During our 2023 exhibition Raeburn’s Edinburgh, I trained staff and volunteers on simple cleaning and repair techniques for the Victorian frames from the mezzotint engravings that were on display. I had also arranged for Edinburgh & East collections care teams to have a study session with a paper conservator.

This year, the Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion exhibition has allowed for a focus on training in wooden gilded frames, with a Conservation in Action session on the remedial treatment of paintings. We had 10 framed works to be displayed, although not all required remedial work. After initial assessments by the Regional Conservator (North) and myself, we identified the paintings that needed the most intervention from Leith Hall and House of Dun.

These were sent to specialist painting conservators in Dundee for a full condition survey, and then came to the Georgian House after treatments to remove discoloured varnish and consolidation of paint layers. Their frames also required some stabilising and repairs in order to be safely displayed – these were worked on in front of visitors by a freelance frame conservator. Whilst preparing for the exhibition, our frame and painting conservators were able to also undertake some remedial treatment on two frames and their artworks from Newhailes and a portrait from House of the Binns.

A group of six people sit or stand around a large table with two gilt frames laid on them. Several women are working on the frame with paintbrushes or cotton swabs.

Volunteers working on practice frames

During the planning stages of the Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion exhibition, I wanted to make sure that as many as possible of the team who would eventually host and care for the collections exhibited at the Georgian House had the opportunity to be involved in the conservation processes.

I felt it was important that Edinburgh & East collections care staff especially were able to be involved, as part of continuing their skills development. I wanted them to better understand what it takes to put on an exhibition from the perspective of the collections’ requirements, and to be able to confidently monitor the collections throughout the exhibition. For this to be successful, they would need to know how each item had been made as well as be aware of previous treatments or repairs that might affect the stability and the object’s long-term care.

To embed that understanding, the collections care team and also some willing Georgian House volunteers learned a heritage craft skill for the Ramsay exhibition: the gilding of frames. Gilding is a skilled technique and gilded items are complex. The aim of the conservators’ work was to make the frames stable enough to be safely displayed, in a way that is sympathetic to the aesthetic of their age.

A woman sits at a table, wearing blue nitrile gloves. She is leaning over a wooden, gilt frame, conserving a broken edge with glue that can be seen in the foreground in a glass jar.

A man stands with a paintbrush, applying varnish to an 18th-century oil painting canvas laid out on a table in an exhibition room.

During the conservation process, we built in time for the team to talk to and work alongside the conservators undertaking the remedial conservation work. Although the team wouldn’t be able to repair and gild a frame from this basic training – as that requires specialist skills and years of knowledge to be able to predict treatments and identify issues – they would be able to try out some of the techniques and get a flavour of conservation ethics and practices.

By undertaking this training as a Conservation in Action event, it gave participants and the visitors who observed us during our week in the Georgian House a clearer understanding of what frames are made of, and an overview of the traditional materials and artistry used in their manufacture.

A group of six people stand around a large table with two large gilt frames laid on a white cloth.

A work table is set up to display a wide range of materials used in the gilding process, including frame corners, brushes and pots of paint and glue.

For a week in April, we opened up the exhibition space to visitors where they could observe frame conservator Colleen Donaldson ACR working on three 18th-century carved wood, gilded frames. I supervised staff and volunteers working alongside Colleen on moulded, gesso, gilt and bronzed early 20th-century non-collection frames, which had been kindly donated by a Georgian House volunteer for practice. The teams made moulds and replicas of missing moulding and detailing. They then applied and built up areas with gesso (a mix of whiting and rabbit skin glue) as well as consolidating loose areas with diluted rabbit skin glue. Once the replica missing moulding had been adhered to the frame, it was painted to replicate the underlying bole. Then, gold powder in shellac was applied and toned down with oil pigment.

Three young women wearing blue nitrile gloves lean over a table, making compo pieces for a gilt frame.

A detail of a corner repair of a composition gilt frame, showing a putty-like substance filling in a broken section on the corner.

A woman with tied-up dark hair bends over a gilt frame, painting on a yellow pigment with a small brush.

The gilded frames that house the Ramsay painted canvases had suffered some wear and tear during their lifetime, with most of the frames having had some past intervention or restoration in the form of repair, re-gilding, toning or bronzing powders applied. Although the frames look robust, the carved wood is vulnerable to environmental changes, pest attack and physical damage. The real gold leaf that these frames were originally gilded with is easily scratched, stained or lost if it comes into contact with water or is cleaned with inappropriate or abrasive cleaning solutions. This can wear the thin gold layer away to show the clay bole earth layer beneath.

The gilding conservator showed staff, volunteers and visitors where old repairs had been carried out and areas where damage had occurred. She also explained any historical treatments that had been carried out, such as pigmented toning that had since discoloured. She showed us where she had stabilised and consolidated original surfaces, filling missing areas with the same materials the frames would have been made with originally. She also matched any new gilding to tonally complement the ‘aged’ overall appearance of the frame.

The corner of a gilt frame showing cracks and missing sections in the carved design.

A detail of a carved section of a gilt frame with some repairs made using white gesso.

A close-up of the corner of a gilt frame, with newly applied bright yellow gold leaf applied to some of the decorative features.

A close-up of the corner of a gilt frame, where newly applied gold leaf repairs have been tonally adjusted to match the colour of the older frame.

Staff were able to practise water gilding with 23¾ carat gold leaf onto gesso- and bole-prepared test blocks, as well as lay some gold onto the 18th-century frame using a traditional gilder’s cushion and squirrel hair gilder’s tip.

Two women stand over a carved wooden historic frame, applying loose gold leaf to carved details.

Frame conservator showing staff how to apply loose gold leaf to an 18th-century frame

The Ramsay exhibition has truly been a collaborative process, with opportunities for learning traditional heritage craft skills very much at the forefront of the conservation engagement work. So much of what is perceived to be ‘behind the scenes’ is very much day-to-day for the Trust’s three Regional Conservators, who form part of a central team of heritage specialists. Having the opportunity to explain to a wider audience how our collections are preserved through our preventive and remedial practices is very rewarding. For the participants to be able to physically have a go and handle materials or try new techniques better embeds the learning process, as well as allowing for a greater sense of involvement. These portraits will continue to be enjoyed thanks to the valuable contributions of all those involved in the conservation processes.