Saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen and other creatures, it is not known when riders first began to use some sort of padding or protection, but a blanket attached by some form of surcingle or girth was the first "saddle", followed by more elaborate padded designs. The solid saddle tree was a invention, though early stirrup designs predated the invention of the solid tree; the paired stirrup, which attached to the tree, was the last element of the saddle to reach the basic form, still used today. Today, modern saddles come in a wide variety of styles, each designed for a specific equestrianism discipline, require careful fit to both the rider and the horse. Proper saddle care can extend the useful life of a saddle for decades; the saddle was a crucial step in the increased use of domesticated animals, during the Classical Era.
The word "saddle" originates from the Proto-Germanic language *sathulaz, with cognates in various other Indo-European languages, including the Latin sella. Tree: the base on which the rest of the saddle is built - based on wood or a similar synthetic material; the saddler covers it with leather or with a leather-like synthetic. The tree's size determines its fit on the horse's back, as well as the size of the seat for the rider, it provides a bearing surface to protect the horse from the weight of the rider. The solid saddle tree raises the rider above the horse's back, distributes the rider's weight, reducing the pounds per square inch carried on any one part of the horse's back, thus increasing the comfort of the horse and prolonging its useful life. Seat: the part of the saddle where the rider sits, it is lower than the pommel and cantle to provide security Pommel or Pomnel / Swells: the front raised area of the saddle. Cantle: the rear of the saddle Stirrup: part of the saddle in which the rider's feet are placed.
Leathers and Flaps, or Fenders: The leather straps connecting the stirrups to the saddle tree and leather flaps giving support to the rider's leg and protecting the rider from sweat. D-ring: a "D"-shaped ring on the front of a saddle, to which certain pieces of equipment can be attached. Girth or Cinch: A wide strap that goes under the horse's barrel, just behind the front legs of the horse that holds the saddle on. Panels, Lining, or Padding: Cushioning on the underside of the saddle. In addition to the above basic components, some saddles include: Surcingle: A long strap that goes all the way around the horse's barrel. Depending on purpose, may be used by itself, placed over a pad or blanket only, or placed over a saddle to help hold it on. Monkey grip or less Jug handle: a handle that may be attached to the front of European saddles or on the right side of Australian stock saddle. A rider may use it to assist in mounting. Horn: knob-like appendage attached to the pommel or swells, most associated with the modern western saddle, but seen on some saddle designs in other cultures.
Knee rolls: Seen on some English saddles, extra padding on the front of the flaps to help stabilize the rider's leg. Sometimes thigh rolls are added to the back of the flap. There is evidence, though disputed, that humans first began riding the horse not long after domestication as early as 4000 BC; the earliest known saddle-like equipment were fringed cloths or pads used by Assyrian cavalry around 700 BC. These were held on with a surcingle that included breast straps and cruppers. From the earliest depictions, saddles became status symbols. To show off an individual's wealth and status, embellishments were added to saddles, including elaborate sewing and leather work, precious metals such as gold, carvings of wood and horn, other ornamentation; the North Iranian Eurasian nomads known in Europe as Scythians and in Asia as Saka developed an early form of saddle with a rudimentary frame, which included two parallel leather cushions, with girth attached to them, a pommel and cantle with detachable bone/horn/hardened leather facings, leather thongs, a crupper, a felt shabrack adorned with animal motifs.
These were located in Pazyryk burials finds. These saddles, found in the Ukok Plateau, Siberia were dated to 500-400 BC. Iconographic evidence of a predecessor to the modern saddle has been found in the art of the ancient Armenians and steppe nomads depicted on the Assyrian stone relief carvings from the time of Ashurnasirpal II; the Scythians developed an early saddle that included padding and decorative embellishments. Though they had neither a solid tree nor stirrups, these early treeless saddles and pads provided protection and comfort to the rider, with a slight increase in security; the Sarmatians used a padded treeless early saddle as early as the seventh century, BC. and depictions of Alexander the Great depict a saddle cloth. Early solid-treed saddles were made of felt. Asian designs appeared during the Han dynasty 200 BC. One of the earliest solid-treed saddles in the west was the "four horn" design, first used by the Romans as early as the 1st century BC. Neither design had stirrups.
The development of the solid saddle tree was significant.
Hammer
A modern day hammer is a tool consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle, swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to shape metal, or to crush rock. Hammers are used for a wide range of driving and breaking applications; the modern hammer head is made of steel, heat treated for hardness, the handle is made of wood or plastic. The term "hammer" applies to a mechanism's part that delivers a blow, such as the hammer of a firearm or of a piano; the claw hammer has a "claw" to pull nails out of wood, is found in an inventory of household tools in North America. Other types of hammer vary in shape and structure, depending on their purposes. Hammers used in many trades include sledgehammers and ball-peen hammers. Although most hammers are hand tools, powered hammers, such as steam hammers and trip hammers, are used to deliver forces beyond the capacity of the human arm. There are over 40 different types of hammers; the use of simple hammers dates to around 3.3 million years ago according to the 2012 find made by Sonia Harmand and Jason Lewis of Stony Brook University, who while excavating a site near Kenya's Lake Turkana discovered a large deposit of various shaped stones including those used to strike wood, bone, or other stones to break them apart and shape them.
The first hammers were without handles. <https://langs.co.uk/blog/2017/06/30/the-history-of-the-hammer-from-its-prehistoric-beginnings/> Later stones attached to sticks with strips of leather or animal sinew were being used as hammers with handles by about 30,000 BCE during the middle of the Paleolithic Stone Age. The addition of a handle gave the user less accidents. <https://langs.co.uk/blog/2017/06/30/the-history-of-the-hammer-from-its-prehistoric-beginnings/>. The hammer became the number one tool. Used for building and protection; the hammer's archeological record shows that it may be the oldest tool for which definite evidence exists of its early existence. A traditional hand-held hammer consists of a separate head and a handle, which can be fastened together by means of a special wedge made for the purpose, or by glue, or both; this two-piece design is used to combine a dense metallic striking head with a non-metallic mechanical-shock-absorbing handle. If wood is used for the handle, it is hickory or ash, which are tough and long-lasting materials that can dissipate shock waves from the hammer head.
Rigid fiberglass resin may be used for the handle. A loose hammer head is hazardous because it can "fly off the handle" when in use, becoming a dangerous uncontrolled missile. Wooden handles can be replaced when worn or damaged; some hammers are one-piece designs made of a single material. A one-piece metallic hammer may optionally have its handle coated or wrapped in a resilient material such as rubber, for improved grip and to reduce user fatigue; the hammer head may be surfaced with a variety of materials including brass, wood, rubber, or leather. Some hammers have interchangeable striking surfaces, which can be selected as needed or replaced when worn out. A large hammer-like tool is a maul, a wood- or rubber-headed hammer is a mallet, a hammer-like tool with a cutting blade is called a hatchet; the essential part of a hammer is the head, a compact solid mass, able to deliver a blow to the intended target without itself deforming. The impacting surface of the tool is flat or rounded; some upholstery hammers have a magnetized face.
In the hatchet, the flat hammer head may be secondary to the cutting edge of the tool. The impact between steel hammer heads and the objects being hit can create sparks, which may ignite flammable or explosive gases; these are a hazard in some industries such as underground coal mining, or in other hazardous environments such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants. In these environments, a variety of non-sparking metal tools are used made of aluminium or beryllium copper. In recent years, the handles have been made of durable plastic or rubber, though wood is still used because of its shock-absorbing qualities and repair-ability. Ball-peen hammer, or mechanic's hammer Boiler scaling hammer Brass hammer known as non-sparking hammer or spark-proof hammer and used in flammable areas like oil fields Carpenter's hammer, such as the framing hammer and the claw hammer, pinhammers Cow hammer – sometimes used for livestock slaughter, a practice now deprecated due to animal welfare objections Cross-peen hammer, having one round face and one wedge-peen face.
Dead blow hammer delivers impact with little recoil due to a hollow head filled with sand, lead shot or pellets Drilling hammer – a short handled sledgehammer used for drilling in rock with a chisel. The name refers to a hammer with a 2-to-4-pound head and a 10-inch handle called a "single-jack" hammer because it was used by one person drilling, holding the chisel in one hand and the hammer in the other. In modern usage, the term is interchangeable with "engineer's hammer", although it can indica
Veterinary physician
A veterinary physician called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon, is a professional who practices veterinary medicine by treating diseases and injuries in animals. In many countries, the local nomenclature for a veterinarian is a regulated and protected term, meaning that members of the public without the prerequisite qualifications and/or licensure are not able to use the title. In many cases, the activities that may be undertaken by a veterinarian are restricted only to those professionals who are registered as a veterinarian. For instance, in the United Kingdom, as in other jurisdictions, animal treatment may only be performed by registered veterinary physicians, it is illegal for any person, not registered to call themselves a veterinarian or prescribe any treatment. Most veterinary physicians work in clinical settings; these veterinarians may be involved in a general practice. As with other healthcare professionals, veterinarians face ethical decisions about the care of their patients.
Current debates within the profession include the ethics of certain procedures believed to be purely cosmetic or unnecessary for behavioral issues, such as declawing of cats, docking of tails, cropping of ears and debarking on dogs. The word "veterinary" comes from the Latin veterinae meaning "working animals". "Veterinarian" was first used in print by Thomas Browne in 1646. Ancient Indian sage and veterinary physician Shalihotra, the son of a Brahmin sage, Hayagosha, is considered the founder of veterinary sciences; the first veterinary college was founded in France in 1762 by Claude Bourgelat. According to Lupton, after observing the devastation being caused by cattle plague to the French herds, Bourgelat devoted his time to seeking out a remedy; this resulted in his founding a veterinary college in Lyon in 1761, from which establishment he dispatched students to combat the disease. The Odiham Agricultural Society was founded in 1783 in England to promote agriculture and industry, played an important role in the foundation of the veterinary profession in Britain.
A 1785 Society meeting resolved to "promote the study of Farriery upon rational scientific principles." The professionalization of the veterinary trade was achieved in 1790, through the campaigning of Granville Penn, who persuaded the Frenchman Benoit Vial de St. Bel to accept the professorship of the newly established Veterinary College in London; the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was established by royal charter in 1844. Veterinary science came of age in the late 19th century, with notable contributions from Sir John McFadyean, credited by many as having been the founder of modern Veterinary research. Veterinarians treat disease, disorder or injury in animals, which includes diagnosis and aftercare; the scope of practice and experience of the individual veterinarian will dictate what interventions they perform, but most will perform surgery. Unlike in human medicine, veterinarians must rely on clinical signs, as animals are unable to vocalize symptoms as a human would. In some cases, owners may be able to provide a medical history and the veterinarian can combine this information along with observations, the results of pertinent diagnostic tests such as radiography, CT scans, MRI, blood tests and others.
Veterinarians must consider the appropriateness of euthanasia if a condition is to leave the animal in pain or with a poor quality of life, or if treatment of a condition is to cause more harm to the patient than good, or if the patient is unlikely to survive any treatment regimen. Additionally, there are scenarios where euthanasia is considered due to the constrains of the client's finances; as with human medicine, much veterinary work is concerned with prophylactic treatment, in order to prevent problems occurring in the future. Common interventions include vaccination against common animal illnesses, such as distemper or rabies, dental prophylaxis to prevent or inhibit dental disease; this may involve owner education so as to avoid future medical or behavioral issues. Additionally veterinarians have the prevention of zoonoses; the majority of veterinarians are employed in private practice treating animals. Small animal veterinarians work in veterinary clinics, veterinary hospitals, or both.
Large animal veterinarians spend more time travelling to see their patients at the primary facilities which house them, such as zoos or farms. Other employers include charities treating animals, colleges of veterinary medicine, research laboratories, animal food companies, pharmaceutical companies. In many countries, the government may be a major employer of veterinarians, such as the United States Department of Agriculture or the Animal and Plant Health Agency in the United Kingdom. State and local governments employ veterinarians. Veterinarians and their practices may be specialized in certain areas of veterinary medicine. Areas of focus include: Exotic animal veterinaria
Knife
A knife is a tool with a cutting edge or blade attached to a handle. Mankind's first tool, knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Made of rock, bone and obsidian, over the centuries, in step with improvements in metallurgy or manufacture, knife blades have been made from bronze, iron, steel and titanium. Most modern knives have either folding blades. Knives can serve various purposes. Hunters use a hunting knife, soldiers use the combat knife, scouts and hikers carry a pocket knife. A modern knife consists of: the blade the handle the point – the end of the knife used for piercing the edge – the cutting surface of the knife extending from the point to the heel the grind – the cross section shape of the blade the spine – the thickest section of the blade. Single-edged knives may have a reverse edge or false edge occupying a section of the spine; these edges are serrated and are used to further enhance function. The handle, used to grip and manipulate the blade safely, may include a tang, a portion of the blade that extends into the handle.
Knives are made with full tangs. The handle may include a bolster, a piece of heavy material situated at the front or rear of the handle; the bolster, as its name suggests, is used to mechanically strengthen the knife. Knife blades can be manufactured from a variety of materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Carbon steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, can be sharp, it holds its edge well, remains easy to sharpen, but is vulnerable to rust and stains. Stainless steel is an alloy of iron, chromium nickel, molybdenum, with only a small amount of carbon, it is not able to take quite as sharp an edge as carbon steel, but is resistant to corrosion. High carbon stainless steel is stainless steel with a higher amount of carbon, intended to incorporate the better attributes of carbon steel and stainless steel. High carbon stainless steel blades do not discolor or stain, maintain a sharp edge. Laminated blades use combining the attributes of both. For example, a harder, more brittle steel may be sandwiched between an outer layer of softer, stainless steel to reduce vulnerability to corrosion.
In this case, the part most affected by corrosion, the edge, is still vulnerable. Damascus steel is a form of pattern welding with similarities to laminate construction. Layers of different steel types are welded together, but the stock is manipulated to create patterns in the steel. Titanium is a metal that has a better strength-to-weight ratio, is more wear resistant, more flexible than steel. Although less hard and unable to take as sharp an edge, carbides in the titanium alloy allow them to be heat-treated to a sufficient hardness. Ceramic blades are hard and lightweight: they may maintain a sharp edge for years with no maintenance at all, but are as fragile as glass and will break if dropped on a hard surface, they are immune to common corrosion, can only be sharpened on silicon carbide sandpaper and some grinding wheels. Plastic blades are not sharp and serrated, they are disposable. Steel blades are shaped by forging or stock removal. Forged blades are made by heating a single piece of steel shaping the metal while hot using a hammer or press.
Stock removal blades are shaped by removing metal. With both methods, after shaping, the steel must be heat treated; this involves heating the steel above its critical point quenching the blade to harden it. After hardening, the blade is tempered to make the blade tougher. Mass manufactured kitchen cutlery uses both the stock removal processes. Forging tends to be reserved for manufacturers' more expensive product lines, can be distinguished from stock removal product lines by the presence of an integral bolster, though integral bolsters can be crafted through either shaping method. Knives are sharpened in various ways. Flat ground blades have a profile that tapers from the thick spine to the sharp edge in a straight or convex line. Seen in cross section, the blade would form a long, thin triangle, or where the taper does not extend to the back of the blade, a long thin rectangle with one peaked side. Hollow ground blades have beveled edges; the resulting blade has a thinner edge, so it may have better cutting ability for shallow cuts, but it is lighter and less durable than flat ground blades and will tend to bind in deep cuts.
Serrated blad
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy, entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and Independent Catholic churches and in the Assyrian Church of the East, bishops claim apostolic succession, a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood and can ordain clergy – including another bishop; some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. One, ordained deacon and bishop is understood to hold the fullness of the priesthood, given responsibility by Christ to govern and sanctify the Body of Christ, members of the Faithful. Priests and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishops in shepherding a flock.
The term epískopos, meaning "overseer" in Greek, the early language of the Christian Church, was not from the earliest times distinguished from the term presbýteros, but the term was clearly used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of presbyter in the writings attributed to Ignatius of Antioch.. The earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In Acts 11:30 and Acts 15:22, we see a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just, according to tradition the first bishop of the city. In Acts 14:23, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia; the word presbyter was not yet distinguished from overseer, as in Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5–7 and 1 Peter 5:1. The earliest writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the Didache and the First Epistle of Clement, for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters and deacon.
In Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Titus in Crete to oversee the local church. Paul commands Titus to exercise general oversight. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches; the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more and all local churches would follow the example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge, though the role of the body of presbyters remained important. As Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to minister each congregation, acting as the bishop's delegate. Around the end of the 1st century, the church's organization became clearer in historical documents. In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos, or bishop, became more important or, rather was important and being defined.
While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who don't recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city. "Blessed be God, who has granted unto you, who are yourselves so excellent, to obtain such an excellent bishop." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 1:1 "and that, being subject to the bishop and the presbytery, ye may in all respects be sanctified." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 2:1 "For your justly renowned presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as to the bishop as the strings are to the harp." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 4:1 "Do ye, beloved, be careful to be subject to the bishop, the presbyters and the deacons."
— Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 5:1 "Plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself" — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6:1. "your godly bishop" — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2:1. "the bishop presiding after the likeness of God and the presbyters after the likeness of the council of the Apostles, with the deacons who are most dear to me, having been entrusted with the diaconate of Jesus Christ" — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 6:1. "Therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7:1. "Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, that there may be union both of flesh and of spirit." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13:2. "In like manner let all men respe
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, necklaces, pendants and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used, it is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are extremely long-lived. Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials. Gemstones and similar materials such as amber and coral, precious metals and shells have been used, enamel has been important. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings, genital jewellery.
The patterns of wearing jewellery between the sexes, by children and older people can vary between cultures, but adult women have been the most consistent wearers of jewellery. The word jewellery itself is derived from the word jewel, anglicised from the Old French "jouel", beyond that, to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. In British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Hiberno-English, Australian English, South African English it is spelled jewellery, while the spelling is jewelry in American English. Both are used in Canadian English. In French and a few other European languages the equivalent term, may cover decorated metalwork in precious metal such as objets d'art and church items, not just objects worn on the person. Humans have used jewellery for a number of different reasons: functional to fix clothing or hair in place as a marker of social status and personal status, as with a wedding ring as a signifier of some form of affiliation, whether ethnic, religious or social to provide talismanic protection as an artistic display as a carrier or symbol of personal meaning – such as love, mourning, or luckMost cultures at some point have had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewellery.
Numerous cultures store wedding dowries in the form of jewellery or make jewellery as a means to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewellery has been used as a trade good. Many items of jewellery, such as brooches and buckles, originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement diminished. Jewellery can symbolise group membership or status. Wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or ward off evil is common in some cultures; these may take the form of symbols, plants, body parts, or glyphs. In creating jewellery, coins, or other precious items are used, they are set into precious metals. Platinum alloys range from 900 to 950; the silver used in jewellery is sterling silver, or 92.5% fine silver. In costume jewellery, stainless steel findings are sometimes used. Other used materials include glass, such as fused-glass or enamel. However, any inclusion of lead or lead solder will give a British Assay office the right to destroy the piece, however it is rare for the assay office to do so.
Beads are used in jewellery. These may be made of glass, metal, shells and polymer clay. Beaded jewellery encompasses necklaces, earrings and rings. Beads may be small. Seed beads are used in an embroidery technique where they are sewn onto fabric backings to create broad collar neck pieces and beaded bracelets. Bead embroidery, a popular type of handwork during the Victorian era, is enjoying a renaissance in modern jewellery making. Beading, or beadwork, is very popular in many African and indigenous North American cultures. Silversmiths and lapidaries methods include forging, soldering or welding, carving and "cold-joining". Diamonds were first mined in India. Pliny may have mentioned them, although there is some debate as to the exact nature of the stone he referred to as Adamas. Ther
Gilding
Gilding is any decorative technique for applying a thin coating of gold to solid surfaces such as metal, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, it was traditionally silver in the West, to make silver-gilt objects, but gilt-bronze is used in China, called ormolu if it is Western. Methods of gilding include hand application and gluing of gold leaf, chemical gilding, electroplating, the last called gold plating. Parcel-gilt objects are only gilded over part of their surfaces; this may mean that all of the inside, none of the outside, of a chalice or similar vessel is gilded, or that patterns or images are made up by using a combination of gilt and ungilted areas. Gilding gives an object a gold appearance at a fraction of the cost of creating a solid gold object. In addition, a solid gold piece would be too soft or too heavy for practical use. A gilt surface does not tarnish as silver does. Herodotus mentions that the Egyptians gilded wood and metals, many such objects have been excavated.
Certain Ancient Greek statues of great prestige were chryselephantine, i.e. made of ivory. Extensive ornamental gilding was used in the ceiling coffers of the Propylaea. Pliny the Elder informs us that the first gilding seen at Rome was after the destruction of Carthage, under the censorship of Lucius Mummius, when the Romans began to gild the ceilings of their temples and palaces, the Capitol being the first place on which this process was used, but he adds that luxury advanced on them so that in little time you might see all private and poor people, gild the walls and other parts of their dwellings. Owing to the comparative thickness of the gold leaf used in ancient gilding, the traces of it that remain are remarkably brilliant and solid. Fire-gilding of metal goes back at least to the 4th century BC, was known to Pliny, Vitruvius and in the Early Mediaeval period to Theophilus. In Europe, silver-gilt has always been more common than gilt-bronze, but in China the opposite has been the case.
The ancient Chinese developed the gilding of porcelain, taken up by the French and other European potters. Modern gilding is applied by various processes. More traditional techniques still form an important part of framemaking and are sometimes still employed in general woodworking, cabinet-work, decorative painting and interior decoration and ornamental leather work, in the decoration of pottery and glass. Mechanical gilding includes all the operations in which gold leaf is prepared, the processes to mechanically attach the gold onto surfaces; the techniques include burnishing, water gilding and oil-gilding used by wood gilders. "Overlaying" or folding or hammering on gold foil or gold leaf is the simplest and most ancient method, is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and the Old Testament. The Ram in a Thicket of about 2600–2400 BCE from Ur uses this technique on wood, with a thin layer of bitumen underneath to help adhesion; the next advances involved two simple processes. The first involves gold leaf, gold, hammered or cut into thin sheets.
Gold leaf is thinner than standard paper today, when held to the light is semi-transparent. In ancient times it was about ten times thicker than today, half that in the Middle Ages. If gilding on canvas or on wood, the surface was first coated with gesso. "Gesso" is a substance made of chalk mixed with glue. Once the coating of gesso had been applied, allowed to dry, smoothed, it was re-wet with a sizing made of rabbit-skin glue and water or boiled linseed oil mixed with litharge and the gold leaf was layered on using a gilder's tip and left to dry before being burnished with a piece of polished agate; those gilding on canvas and parchment sometimes employed stiffly-beaten egg whites, and/or Armenian bole as sizing, though egg whites and gum both become brittle over time, causing the gold leaf to crack and detach, so honey was sometimes added to make them more flexible. Other gilding processes involved using the gold as pigment in paint: the artist ground the gold into a fine powder and mixed it with a binder such as gum arabic.
The resulting gold paint, called shell gold, was applied in the same way as with any paint. Sometimes, after either gold-leafing or gold-painting, the artist would heat the piece enough to melt the gold ensuring an coat; these techniques remained the only alternatives for materials like wood, the vellum pages of illuminated manuscripts, gilt-edged stock. Chemical gilding embraces those processes in which the gold is at some stage of chemical combination; these include: In this process the gold is obtained in a state of fine division, applied by mechanical means. Cold gilding on silver is performed by a solution of gold in aqua regia, applied by dipping a linen rag into the solution, burning it, rubbing the black and heavy ashes on the silver with the finger or a piece of leather or cork. Wet gilding is effected by means of a dilute solution of gold chloride in aqua regia with twice its quantity of ether
