Market Method: A New Leaf

-- Interior Design, 7/1/2008

Sometimes, a frame is just as labor-intensive and complex as the artwork inside. Richly carved and finished frames can take months to make, with only a few feet produced each day. The work often requires the talents of trained gilders, practitioners of the ancient craft of adhering precious metal to a surface—and do note that ancient is not used as hyperbole. Gilding as practiced by the likes of APF Munn has barely changed since the process was used in classical Greece and the pharaohs' Egypt. 212-308-6152; apfmunn.com. circle 409

From left: For consistency, carvers follow patterns, some of them designed over 300 years ago. Water, applied to the clay, causes it to become adhesive.