Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Words of the day: "ORMOLU" and "VERMEIL"

Pronounced: "OR muh loo"

Ormolu is from the French (meaning ground gold) and is a term used to describe gilded brass or bronze. In recent times, it's been used to describe even ungilded brass or bronze, but technically it should be gilded. Ormolu mounts on furniture were very popular in the Louis XIV and XV periods.

A similar word that you will often here in this category is ''Vermeil", pronounced "VER may (yuh)" and is the French term for any gilded metal.

Here are some illustrations of ormolu or vermeil mounts from both 18th and 19th century pieces in our galleries:






No comments: