Existing comment:
What Do We Mean When We Say "Gold"?
Gold has long served as a shared global commodity and standard of value. It is one of the softest metals and is extremely resistant to corrosion. When royalty and the elite -- those who could afford the purest of gold -- first commissioned jewelry, the ratio of gold to alloying component was much higher than what one sees today.
Most of the jewelry in this exhibition is made from a silver or copper alloy, with small amounts of gold present. Because the gold content in these alloys is often not sufficient to achieve the desired golden hue, artists employed gold plate. Called or de Galam in Wolof or or du pays in French, this "country gold" provides maximum flexibility in color (ranging from more yellow to more orange) and accommodates smaller budgets. The most affluent and discerning customers still strive for 14-, 18-, or 22-karat gold whenever possible, though mixtures or silver covered in gold are most common. |