Gold - Tapa dura

From time immemorial, monarchs have used gold to symbolise their status and power, and artists to evoke the divine. This book explores the use of gold in art and the exploitation of its worth and rarity to promote messages of authority, immortality and wealth. ‘Divinity’ looks at the importance of gold in devotional art; ‘Power’ examines the role of gold in the imagery of power, and ‘Art’ presents the precious, reflective and indestructible quality of gold, and ends the book with a selection of gold boxes, Fabergé, jewellery, gold lacquer, the fourthousand- year-old Rillaton gold cup and drawings in gold paint by Edward Burne-Jones.

Kathryn Jones is Curator of Decorative Arts, Royal Collection Trust, and the author ofFor the Royal Table: Dining at the Palace. Lauren Porter is a Curator at the Royal Library, Windsor Castle.Jennifer Scott is Curator of Paintings, Royal Collection Trust. She is coauthor, most recently, ofDutch Landscapes.