tokin 鍍金

Gilding. A decorative technique used in metalwork, where an object was coated with a thin layer of gold. In Japan, this technique was most commonly used for Buddhist statues made of bronze *kondō 金銅. It flourished during the 7th-8th century, and then saw a revival in the Kamakura period. Two methods were used in gilding: 1) the surface of the work was coated with an amalgam of gold and mercury, which was heated and fixed; or 2) the surface was first coated with mercury, and then gold leaf was applied to a heated surface.