All that glisters at the Sarjeant

Ormolu clock and matching figures, by Ernest Rancoulet, circa 1900.

Several items on display in the Sarjeant Gallery exhibition Function & Fancy: Decorative Arts from the Collection and Beyond have what appears to be gold on their surface.

The gilding on these items is produced using a technique traditionally called ormolu. Such items in the exhibition include the pair of Sèvres style vases painted by G. Poitevin and the Ormolu clock with its three figurines.

The word ormolu is derived from the French "or", meaning gold, and "molu", meaning mashed or pounded.

In English it is also known as gilt brass, gilt bronze, or fire gilding.

This technique - popular in the 18th and 19th centuries for furniture, jewellery, small statuary and ceramics - fell out of favour due to the toxicity of the vapours produced and is now rarely used.

Ormolu involves mixing finely ground high-carat gold with a mercury paste which is applied to the brass mount. The object is then heated in a kiln so that the mercury is vaporised, which leaves the gold fused on the brass.

Inhalation of the resulting toxic mercury vapour can have potentially fatal effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys.

The pair of vases was made in the style of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, founded in Paris in 1739-1740 and renowned for its luxury porcelain, produced mainly for the royal family, court and aristocracy. The ormolu elements are on the brass handles, stand and lids.

The vases were bought in 1922 by Henry Sarjeant's widow, Ellen, and her new husband, John Armstrong Neame, who made several trips to Europe to purchase works for the fledgling Sarjeant Gallery collection.

The vases cost the Neames £45 and, in a letter to the town clerk dated 1922, the Neames described them as being "from a collection of treasures belonging to a Russian Grand Duke which was saved and brought to France. These works we had very unusual chances of acquiring, for owing to the immediate need of funds, owners were willing to part with them at very low prices for what, I believe, is known as spot cash."

The ormolu clock was made by Ernest Rancoulet, born in Bordeaux, France, in 1870 and renowned for producing detailed allegorical bronze figures influenced by both classicism and art nouveau. The three figurines probably represent music (the ring of bells), writing or knowledge (the scroll and feather quill), and nature (the bird).

The three-part clock was given to the gallery in 1950 as part of a bequest from Miss F.J. Montgomery Moore.

The exhibition Function & Fancy is on until April 16 at both Sarjeant on the Quay venues - ceramics, silverware and glassware are on display in the gallery space above Whanganui i-SITE; the furniture is displayed at Sarjeant on the Quay, 38 Taupō Quay.

There is a floor talk on Saturday April 8 at 2pm and an Art Fix session on April 13 at 2pm - both talks start at i-SITE.

* Jennifer Taylor Moore is Curator of Collections at the Sarjeant Gallery.