A BRIEF HISTORY OF GOLD IN ART, FROM ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BURIAL MASKS TO JEFF KOONS

BY JON MANN

From the very earliest human discoveries of gold, thought to have occurred between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, the precious metal was known to be something rare and special. Found deposited in rivers, the glimmering nuggets of gold—which appeared to radiate light like the sun—were too soft and malleable to turn into tools. Yet they were also incorruptible, resistant to tarnishing like other precious metals. 

The ancient Egyptians found a better use for the material. They transformed it into objects invested with divine associations and ornate decorations for divinely ordained rulers. Gold would quickly come to signify not only godliness, but wealth, purity, and prestige. Indeed, throughout human history, works of art incorporating gold have served myriad purposes, from displays of piety to displays of economic power and luxury.

The earliest gold artifacts discovered by archaeologists were found in the Eastern Mediterranean and date to around the 4th millennium BC. Today, the use of gold is more widespread—you might even find an extremely upmarket dessert coated in thin, flavorless gold leaf.

From religious artists for whom gold lined the streets of holy paradise to one who used its weight as the value standard for his own feces, here is a brief history of gold in art.

Ancient Egypt (Electrum)

Statuette of Amun, ca. 945-712 B.C. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ancient Egyptian metalsmiths began creating gold objects as early as the predynastic period (4th millennium BC), before the Egyptians had even established a written language. Initially, gold was exclusively reserved for the use of kings, and eventually for nobles, too. Gold was considered to be the skin of gods and goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon, and a pharaoh might order his eternal resting place capped with a brilliant gold-plated pyramidion to reflect the blessings of the sun god Ra.

Interestingly, the Egyptians weren’t so concerned with the purity of the material, but rather produced objects with Electrum, a naturally occurring gold-silver alloy whose content ranges between 20 and 80 percent gold. Due to its hybrid nature, Electrum typically took on a lighter color than yellow gold, as in this Uraeus (snake), adapted from a pharaonic head covering.

Electrum’s “taint” of silver also proved useful to Egyptian goldsmiths, who quickly discovered that the uneven tarnishing of the gold and silver components in the metal led to beautiful red imperfections in their finished objects. Turning the situation to their advantage, they began producing “red gold” works, such as the red gold burial mask of Ukhhotep……………………

Islamic Art & Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts (Gold Leaf)

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