Hand Turned Silver Leaf? Top 50 Best Answers

Vark sheets are laid or rolled over some South Asian sweets, confectionery, dried fruits, and spices. It was also placed on slabs on mounds of saffron rice.[4][5][6]

For safety and ethical reasons, the Indian government has issued food safety guidelines and product standards for silver foil manufacturers.[7]

history [edit]

Etymology[ edit ]

Vark. A tray of South Asian sweets, with some shiny pieces

Varaka means cloth, cloak or something that covers something else. Vark is sometimes spelled Varaq, Varq, Vark, Varkh, Varakh, Varkha, or Waraq (Hindi: वरक़, Urdu: ورق Hindi pronunciation: [ʋəɾəq]). In Persian, varaqa (borrowed from Arabic waraq) means leaf, foil, or leaf.

The Vark product [ edit ]

Silver Coated Spices

Manufacturing [ edit ]

Varak is made by placing the pure metal dust between sheets of parchment and then beating the sheets until the metal dust forms into a sheet[5] that is usually less than one micron (μm) thick, typically 0.2 μm to 0 .8 µm. The sheets are typically wrapped with paper for support; this paper is peeled off before use.[1] It generally takes 2 hours to crush the silver particles in foils.[8]

Particles have traditionally been manually pounded between the layers of ox intestine or cowhide.[8] It is easier to separate the silver leaf from the animal tissue than it is to separate it from the paper. Due to the concerns of India’s vegetarian population, manufacturers have switched to the modern technologies that have developed for the production of silver leaf in India, Germany, Russia and China.[1] Modern technologies include beating over sheets of black, specially treated paper or polyester sheets coated with food-grade calcium powder (nicknamed “German plastic”), used instead of ox gut or cowhide.[8] Old City in Hyderabad used to be the center of traditional manual manufacturing where it is a dying industry.[8]

Use as food[edit]

The silver is edible but tasteless. It is also commonly used in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh as a topping on candies, dried fruits (such as almonds, cashews, and dates), and in sugar balls, betel nuts, cardamom, and other spices.[4] Estimated Vark consumption is 275 tons (according to BWC-Beauty without cruelty data) annually (circa 2016).[7]

The use of edible silver and gold foils on sweets, confectionery and desserts is not unique to the Indian subcontinent; other regions such as Japan and Europe have long used precious metal foils as food coverings and also as decorations, including specialty drinks such as Danziger Goldwasser.[1]

Ethical questions about vegetarians[edit]

Concerns have been raised about the ethical acceptability[8] and food safety of vark, as not all is pure silver nor is it sanitized, and until recently the foil was wrapped between layers of ox gut because it made it easier to separate the silver leaf to separate from animal tissue than to separate it from paper.[7] Through the abrasive action of the hammering, part of the animal’s gut becomes part of the silver foil, which is sold loose.[9] Since Jains and a significant percentage of Hindus are vegetarians,[10] this led to a decline in the use of vark in sweets or suparis.[9] Indian Airlines asked its caterers not to put vark on the delivered food to ensure no animal entrails were present.[9] In 2016, the Indian government banned the use of animal intestines or skins in the manufacture of vark.[7] As a result, the Indian market for vark has largely switched to the machine-vegetarian process in the manufacture of silver foil. The Food Safety and Standards Board of India has issued guidelines to which silver leaf manufacturers must adhere in terms of thickness, weight, purity, labeling and hygiene of the silver leaf.[7]

Security [edit]

Gold and silver are food foils approved in the European Union as E175 and E174 additives, respectively. The independent European certification body for food safety, TÜV Rheinland, has classified gold leaf as safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaf are also certified as kosher. These inert precious metal foils are not considered toxic to humans or wider ecosystems.[11][12] Large amounts of ingested bioactive silver can cause argyria, but the use of edible silver or gold as a vark is not considered harmful to the body since the metal is in an inert form (not ionic bioactive form) and the amounts are present with normal use are tiny.[13]

A study found that about 10% of 178 foils examined from the Lucknow (India) market were made of aluminium. Of the foils tested, it was found that 46% of the samples had the desired purity requirement of 99.9% silver, while the remainder had less than 99.9% silver. All Indian foils tested contained, on average, trace amounts of nickel (487 ppm), lead (301 ppm), copper (324 ppm), chromium (83 ppm), cadmium (97 ppm) and manganese (43 ppm). All of this is less than the natural anthropogenic exposure of these metals; The authors suggest that a lack of purity standards in the European Union and India for food additive grade silver needs to be addressed.[14][15] The total intake of silver metal per kilogram of Vark candy consumed is less than one milligram.[7]

See also[edit]

This page is about water based gold leaf technique suitable for use on paper, parchment, parchment etc. In contrast, external gilding, sign lettering, verre églomisé, etc. are all specialized techniques usually associated with oil gilding – which still use standard gold leaf accessories but require different tools, materials and methods to get the leaf to adhere and stay put .

Any gold leaf technique – water or oil – relies on the fact that gold leaf is amazingly thin, light and fragile. It’s so thin it’s translucent; a whole leaf blows through the room with a breath. And this character of gold leaf is determined by its makers and users, who agree on the sweet spot between cost and practicality.

So before I get into the details below, I want to share the following piece of wisdom. It’s cheaper (and a lot more rewarding) to invest in the right gold leaf handling tools than wasting gold for years. A gilder’s tip (broad brush to pick up), cushion and knife facilitate and simplify the gilding technique. I’m telling you this as someone who has wasted gold leaf for years 🙂

Good.

Now for the details.

Elevated vs Flat

Calligraphic gold leaf techniques can be roughly divided into raised gilding and flat gilding.

Raised gilding is the type where the gold looks like a smooth, solid nugget on the side. It is 3D and reflects the light very richly. It can be decorated with small indentations (embossed) to create a glittering effect.

The raised gilding in books and on pages is a variation of the most traditional gold leaf technique, water gilding. So first below is a renaissance version of water gilding. You can use this method directly on any rigid support (wood, cardboard, etc.) or on rigidly mounted paper or skin. It is prone to tearing and peeling on flexible supports.

After water gilding, I will briefly review the variations of the technique used to create raised gilding on flexible supports such as paper or skin. This, along with flat gilding, is the technique of most interest to most calligraphers.

Flat gilding is just that: flat. It can look amazing: more nuanced and subtle than raised gold plating, but also capable of great drama over large areas. On the whole, it’s also easier to get to.

Water gilding: the ‘elite’ gold leaf technique

Ah, the breathless mystique of water gilding. How long have I lived in fear and awe of this intensely focused art that combines intricate manual dexterity with split-second timing and the cool focus of a Zen martial arts master.

So. Eventually I took the plunge and learned water gilding personally from a tutor in Renaissance painting techniques using Renaissance-style materials. As a result I can tell you that if you are able to:

Persuade a cat to take medication and keep it down

Apply 2 coats of nail polish to toenails and toenails only

stick a band-aid (band-aid) in the right place in a crying child under 5 years old

Fill your own wine glass while juggling a tote bag, plate of canapés, and wrapped gift

defuse a time bomb

Then you were born to excel in water gilding.

I will only provide a high level overview of the technique as a basis for more calligraphy friendly gold leaf techniques detailed below.

You need at least 3 days and: a support; Plaster; gilding bole; coarse brush for applying tree trunk; preferably 2 grit fine sandpaper (as fine as you can get and one grit coarser will do); book of loose gold leaf; Gilder’s Tip, Cushion & Knife – or even supreme genius at handling gold leaf with something other than the right tools; water with a few drops of glue (usually rabbit skin glue); a soft medium artist brush (e.g. squirrel); a polishing stone, preferably agate or hematite. Actually a good novel for the waiting times.

Here’s how:

Prepare the backing (e.g. a piece of fiberboard or oil-free, warp-free wood or glued parchment): basically make it clean, dry and not too porous, for example by applying a coat of diluted rabbit-skin glue and letting it dry, then Coat with successive coats of carefully blended warm gesso and allow each coat to dry for a period of between half an hour and a week, depending on your standards and predicted lifespan. (Details on all of this can be found elsewhere. I mean. Clearly they had plenty of time in the Renaissance.) Apply a thin coat of log to the area to be gilded. It really helps if this area has a smooth outline, because trying to smoothly apply bole to a finely detailed shape is tedious. If I remember correctly, bole basically means “dirt” in Latin. Most often it is a special kind of fine, colored clay mixed with the universal glue rabbit skin glue. (Which, by the way, isn’t made with real rabbits anymore.) Let the stem dry. Not completely, but enough that it doesn’t shift when you apply the next coat. Let’s say ten minutes. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat…yawn…until the log is thick enough. How fat is fat enough? Well, thick enough that it doesn’t grind right back off in the next step. Then dry overnight. It has to be really dry to be sanded. Sand and polish the dry trunk lightly and smooth… more… more… yawn… Use two grits of fine sandpaper. Pay attention to corners and edges where the trunk easily wears through. When perfect, buff with agate, hematite, etc. Buff with silk or whatever else you can think of. Because every single mark on the trunk will show up on the gold. I mean, a fingerprint will show up. A tiny difference in texture. A hairline scratch. It’s scary. Sit comfortably in front of you with the person to be gilded. Cut your loose gold leaf into four pieces and place one piece on the pillow on your dominant side, ready to hand. Prepare the tip of the gilder by running it across your forehead to get a little grease so the gold will stick to it easily. Get your water and size mix handy on the other, non-dominant side, with the limp squirrel hair brush in your hand. Use the tip to pick up the handy piece of gold. Pick up some water. Bring both hands close to the trunk. Apply water to the stem with one hand and IMMEDIATELY apply gold leaf with the other, stroking it flat and evenly onto the water, in a second or two while the water is still shiny-wet on the surface of the tribal is. After the first few tries, it’s not as difficult as it sounds. No, really not. Okay, yes, but it’s also fun. The surface tension of the water “sucks” onto the gold leaf and practically rips it off the tip; meanwhile, the tree trunk absorbs the water very quickly. The result is that the trunk appears to be sucking the gold directly onto its surface, where it adheres. Just try it and you will get it. Here’s the beating heart of this particular gold leaf technique and all the preparation is there to make sure this step works really well. Repeat until the area to be gilded is covered. There will be overlaps. Brush off the excess (appealingly called “skewings”) and collect in a jar to make your own shell gold later in the afternoon. (Riiight.) Touch up the spots that were overlooked or where the gold didn’t stick for some reason unrelated to being an amateur. Let dry. Thoroughly, at least overnight or longer. Gently buff (with an agate buff of course) using gentle, even pressure, hoping you’ve paid proper attention to all of the previous steps. Admire like hell.

That’s it. The slow and meticulous preparation of the surface, the tedious but super quick application of water and gold, and the overnight drying stages somewhat explain why water gilding seems (to me) the scariest gold leaf technique.

But it gives the best results. Bole shines to a mirror shine and the gold adhered to it then looks fantastic. Let me show you a photo of the class…here we are.

It looks a little scratchy because it is a little scratchy: I didn’t use the superfine sandpaper for the few extra hours (or possibly days) it takes to get the underlying surface of the log absolutely smooth. But I can still see my face in the result. This is what “mirror-like finish” means: the creation of a golden mirror.

Other water-based gold leaf techniques

Aside from the initial gesso layers (which are usually present as a painting surface or to smooth out rough surfaces or create shapes in picture frames), you can use the water-gilding method above in small amounts on flexible supports such as pages, but be warned, that the trunk can tear. Of course, the cracking can be a feature. Also, playing around with water on pre-written pages is not a good idea.

Therefore, adjustments to the technology are made as follows:

The plaster is made even smoother (gesso sottile) and combined with the trunk

A flexible adhesive, traditionally fish glue, is used so that the gesso will not tear or jump out of the page if it bends when the page is turned or if it warps due to moisture

A humectant (water attractant) is added to the Gesso Sottile

Raised gilding, but not this raised gilding

Several manufacturers have developed products that promise to make relief gilding super easy and effortless compared to water gilding. They’re not necessarily better, not effortless, but they’re easier and much faster.

Go to the gold leaf page

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Buy gold leaf brushes for sale here, used for applying or cleaning gold leaf in gilding. Gilding is the application of hand-hammered thin sheets of precious metal. When gilding gold leaf you will find many different brushes and tools for the different types of gilding. Gilder’s Tips are used to pick up loose gold leaf for transfer to your gilding. Gilders Water Mops are used to apply water glue (gelatin water) to glass to create a true gold mirror finish known as the fine art of back glass gilding.

Whether you use Water-Size for a mirror gilding or you use the standard Oil-Size for surface gilding (similar to lacquer) which will give you a lustrous satin finish you’ll see on most signs, lettering and custom pinstripe work you’ll need a Gilders Dusting Mop to gently dust off the excess gold leaf. Remember to dust gently as the excess gold you dust can scratch the gold on the surface. Speaking of scraping gold leaf, have you tried the Surplus Gold Leaf Removal Brush? Well after the water/mirror gilding we “back up” the areas we want to keep with back-up paint. When the back-up paint is dry we use the gold leaf removal brush and a little gilder’s soap to remove any excess unwanted gold leaf. You can learn more about gold leaf in our how-to sections on the website.

Besides the gold leaf brushes, we have included some of the other commonly needed materials for gilding gold leaf. Individual brushes listed BELOW!