• 1. Soley, Ndungu, and Goldenberg: Gold, Faux Gold, Varnish
• 2. Our annotation investigates the practice of gilding with gold leaf, imitation gold, and the varnish that is integral to these methods. Each of these areas involves further investigating and supporting each element involved in the larger topic of 'gilding' as described in Ms Fr 640. We are going to practice gilding on wood and gilding on paper. Varnish is involved in the gilding process as well as as a finishing method.

Historical questions:

1) Gilding with real gold
- How gilding would have ultimately impacted the value of the object - was it for decorative purposes or was it a value element, ie. with frames?
- For gilded lettering, was this used for only the capitals or could it have been used for the text in manuscripts?
- Regarding gilding on wood versus gilding on paper, what are the similarities and differences? What about parchment? How did printing impact the value and the working process of gilding?
- In the context of the recipe for Matte Gold, why would the maker want to diminish the lustre of gold? Is he even talking about real gold here, or a substitute?
- In the recipe for Matte Gold, the author specifies: "After that, rub the gilding with a feather and with cotton so that no flaw will remain, then varnish with Flanders varnish that you mix with a bit of spirits in order to make it desiccative." Why does he specify that "Flanders varnish" be used? Also, why would you have to varnish "gold"? Elsewhere in the recipe he just says "varnish" - can any varnish be used, or does this need to be Flanders varnish be used?
2) Gilding with imitation gold
- We are interested in how imitation gold falls into ideas of transformative properties of gold (i.e. in alchemy). Does imitation gold embody the same alchemical of gold despite the fact that it is manufactured rather than occurring in nature. When we make imitation gold, are we practicing alchemy?
3) Varnish
- What does the author of MS Fr. 640 mean by "Flanders varnish," which he gives a recipe for? Is "Flanders varnish" a widely known recipe, or something the author names himself? Why does he call it "Flanders varnish"?
- How does this compare to actual Flemish varnish recipes? Are there geographic differences between French/Italian and Netherlandish/Northern recipes? What does the author of MS Fr. 640 consider 'normal' varnish?
- Regarding the recipe for "Flanders varnish," what is "blue florey"? Is quicklime safe for us to use? Are there alternatives to these ingredients?

• 3. lists the recipes from MS Fr. 640 (and any other source) that you have identified so far (include full recipes if practical)

See: Google doc
Tentative Annotation Recipes

• 4. lays out a schematic plan for the historical, object-based, and hands-on research that will shed light on these recipes.
• 5. list of materials you expect to need, are they in the lab inventory?, where you will source them, and safety considerations.
• 6. a safety protocol for your materials, based on the template in GD Student Files in the folder labelled __Safety - Workflow and Protocol__. Your document should describe your workflow, and what safety measures you will need to take. Upload it into the folder labelled __Safety - Workflow and Protocol__. Your file in this folder should be linked to your Wiki field notes.