British Museum Gold Leaf Gilding
Gold Leaf“I was extremely pleased with the service provided by Kensington Gilders. They worked very hard on a tricky site, under less than ideal conditions, but have left us with a superb end product. Their good humour and perseverance was extremely well received, and the dedication to their craft is evident in the high quality work that they produced.”
— Jonathan Lubikowski, Project Manager, British Museum
Kensington Gilders were contracted to provide gold leaf gilding to all of the wall areas that provide a backdrop to the China and South Asia room at the British Museum as part of an extensive refurbishment programme. This was a complex project which spanned many months. It was managed by Forcia who were able to successfully coordinate this project and it was delivered on time for the grand opening by Queen Elizabeth II.
The scale of the China and South Asia gallery was a large-scale job. The wall areas required oil gilding using 23.5 carat gold transfer leaf, chosen for its durability in a public museum setting. We used transfer leaf rather than loose leaf, as the gallery remained partially accessible during parts of the works and any stray leaf would have been unacceptable near the museum's collection.
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Preparation of the wall surfaces was extensive. Each section had to be brought to a perfectly smooth finish before the application of gold size. We used a slow-setting Japan gold size to allow adequate working time across such large surface areas. Rushing the lay would have resulted in visible overlap lines and inconsistencies under the gallery's controlled lighting.
Access was also a challenge. Working at height within a Grade I listed building required careful scaffolding design that would not damage existing architectural features, and all equipment had to be moved through the museum without disrupting other galleries. Our team worked night shifts for several phases of the project to avoid interference with the museum's opening hours and the parallel works being carried out by other trades.
Project Gallery
