19th century Spanish school. "Girl". Mercury gilded bronze sculpture. Measurements: 32 x 13 x 12 cm. Mercury-gilt bronze sculpture of a girl leaning on a classical column surrounded by ivy and vetegal motifs. The girl holds a purity cloth in her hands with which she covers herself. The folds of the cloth show the high quality of the piece. Mercury gilding was made by applying a solution of mercury nitrate to a piece of copper, brass or bronze, followed by an application of a gold-mercury alloy. The object was then subjected to very high temperatures until the mercury burned off and the gold remained attached to the metal object. Due to exposure to the harmful mercury vapours, most gilders did not survive beyond the age of 40 because of mercury poisoning. With gilding applied, the surface was burnished by pressing the gold layer into the pores of the support with the aid of a tool or burnisher with a hard stone on the end, such as agate or hematite. This process produced a durable gold bath, but could only be applied to small objects for reasons of handling and fire resistance. From 1830 onwards, the traditional manufacture of 'ormolu' in France had to be abandoned because the use of mercury was prohibited by law. Therefore, other techniques were used in its place, but nothing surpasses the beauty and richness of colour that the original mercury gilding method had. Electroplating is the most common modern technique.