Advent Definitions: All that glitters
By Vicky A Price, on 7 December 2017
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‘Gold’ in R 221 DICTIONARIES WORCESTER 1855 – Worcester, A universal critical and pronouncing dictionary of the English language (London, [1855])
As the definition suggests, it’s a material and colour that usually denotes value, beauty, godliness or importance. When I see it in art I often think of the adoring artist, unashamedly displaying admiration and enchantment with someone – think Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I – or a pious artist creating an icon intended to glow with luminosity above an awe-struck congregation.
![](https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-collections/files/2017/12/adele_new-300x183.jpg)
Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
The same is the case when I happen upon gold in UCL’s Special Collections. We hold many manuscripts and rare books that feature gold leaf – either on the pages’ edges, the binding or within the text and illustrations themselves. Perhaps the most staggering example is a copy of the Persian poet’s Masnavi-I Akbar Sultan (‘Romance of the Sultan Akbar’) from 1749. The cover is gilded and ornately decorated, while the leaves inside radiate a dazzling richness only possible through the use of gold leaf:
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The beginning of the Masnavi-i Akbar Sultan poem
This tome, along with other manuscripts and manuscript fragments were the inspiration for a community art project in the Summer with with Sidings Community Centre. They host regular adults’ colouring in sessions, during which local residents for whom social isolation is a high risk come together to enjoy some light-hearted art. I brought them copies of UCL’s most glamorously golden items, and together we had a go at doing some of our own gilding, inspired by the collection.
Some members of the group brought in a chosen fable or poem:
![](https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-collections/files/2017/12/IMG_4126-300x200.jpg)
A gilded chicken!
Others preferred to stick to colouring in, tackling copies of some ornate lettering:
![](https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-collections/files/2017/12/IMG_4150-300x200.jpg)
A slightly psychedelic take on an image from Biblia Latina, an illuminated bible from the 13th or 14th century (MS Lat 9)
We even experimented with ‘aging’ the gold leaf:
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Not a bad first try with using gold leaf!
We look forward to more community and school projects that explore the incredible collection of manuscripts and manuscript fragments at UCL – especially if it means we get to bring the glamour of gilding to more workshops!