Black and gilt picture frame, 110 mm wide

A wide black and gilt picture frame, 110 mm across the face, made to order in my workshop. The body is hand painted black over a red ground and patinated, so the colour underneath comes through at the worked edges. The hollow against the artwork is water gilded with 22-karat moon gold leaf, putting the gold on the one edge that meets the picture.

The profile

At the painting the section opens with a separate inner frame. Its face begins with a cavetto running along the sight line, and this is the hollow that carries the gilding, followed by a narrow flat. From there the profile climbs through a second cavetto that levels off at the top, then drops onto the wide flat band of the face, the broadest and quietest part of the section. Beyond it the face rises again through a third cavetto, flattens once more, then runs out in an ogee to the highest point of the frame at the outer edge, closed by a short flat. The outer side drops vertically and is finished at the back plane by a foot repeating the shape of the ogee above.

Specification

• Style: black and gilt, raised inner and outer edges with a wide flat face between
• Finish: hand painted black over a red ground, patinated, satin sheen, sealed with shellac and wax
• Gilding: inner hollow water gilded with 22-karat moon gold leaf over gesso and red bole
• Moulding width: 110 mm, about 4 and a third inches
• Moulding thickness (face to back): 50 mm, about 2 inches
• Rebate: 7 mm wide, 10 mm or 20 mm deep, chosen in the options
• Material: timber low in tannins, of the kind used in conservation
• Corners: mitred at 45 degrees and reinforced with wooden splines
• Glazing, backing and mount: additional options, quoted individually
• Mounting and hanging: sprung clips and picture wire as standard
• Suits: oil paintings on stretchers, panels and boards up to 20 mm
• Lead time: 20 to 30 working days

Order to the dimensions of the artwork, not of the frame. I build it 2 to 3 mm larger so that the work sits without strain, and the moulding then overlaps the edge of the image by about 4 to 5 mm.

Which paintings and interiors it suits

A 110 mm face reads as a border rather than a trim, so this frame suits oils on canvas from roughly 40 cm on the short side upwards: portraits, dark landscape, still life, and contemporary work that wants weight. Patinated black settles on a plain gallery wall and in a panelled room alike, and the gilded hollow gives the eye a pale line of gold before the paint. My note on types of picture frames for canvas paintings sets out the alternatives; the frame belongs with my picture frames that are gilded and partly painted.

How it is made

The lengths are cut and the corners joined and splined first, so the frame is one closed object before any finish touches it. Then comes the ground, built up in layers and rubbed back, and over it the red bole. The black is painted by hand in stages and patinated while still workable, which lets the colour underneath read through at the raised edges. The hollow is gilded last: the leaf is laid on water, sheet beside sheet with an overlap of about a millimetre, then sealed with shellac and wax. I describe the method in full on my water gilding page.

How it differs from a factory frame

A frame assembled from pre-finished lengths shows its corners: the finish went on before the moulding was cut. Here the order is reversed: joined first, finished afterwards, so ground, paint and gold run across the corner as one surface. The gilding is genuine leaf over bole rather than gold-coloured paint, so it holds a soft depth of colour instead of a flat glare.

Functionality

The frame is supplied without glazing, as a mount for canvas or panel. The rebate is 7 mm wide and comes in two depths, chosen in the options: 20 mm takes a standard gallery stretcher, 10 mm suits board and thinner supports. For a deeper canvas, write to me and I will cut the rebate to suit the stretcher. The same moulding can also be made without a rebate, as a floating frame with a shadow gap around the canvas.

Frequently asked questions

Is the whole frame gilded, or only the inner edge?

Only the inner hollow carries gold leaf; the rest of the moulding is hand painted black. The same profile can be gilded across the whole face; that is different work at a different price, so write to me.

Which gold tone should I choose for an oil painting?

This frame is gilded in 22-karat moon gold, paler and cooler than 23-karat yellow. It suits cool greys, blues and greens, and paintings where a strong yellow line would compete. For warm earth palettes I can gild the frame in 23-karat yellow instead.

Can this frame take conservation-grade low-reflection UV glazing?

Yes. Glazing, an acid-free mount and a Dibond backing can all be added, and a 50 mm moulding leaves room for spacers so nothing rests on the paint. Glazing is quoted separately, by size.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: anti-reflective UV-filtering glass (four classes to choose from), acid-free museum mat board, spacers wrapped in acid-free paper and a Dibond backing. This kind of mounting protects the work from light, acids and distortion. I set out the full glass and material specification on a separate page: archival and museum framing for paintings and photographs. All components are available at extra cost, as an individual quote on request.

Mounting and hanging

Sprung clips are fitted as standard. They turn aside to let the work in and back to hold it, and they cope with anything from a thin board to a stretched canvas. Brass plates with screws are available on request and are supplied loose, for permanent fixing once the work is in place. Hanging orientation, vertical or horizontal, is chosen from the order menu. Picture wire is fitted as standard, and a single D-ring hanger can be fitted instead if you ask for it.

Ordering made to measure

Enter the width and height of the artwork in the calculator and add the frame to the basket. In the options you choose the rebate depth and the hanging orientation.

The base price shown is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the artwork is not the whole length of moulding a frame consumes: mitres cut at 45 degrees take extra length at every corner, and the wider the moulding, the more they take. The calculator accounts for the full consumption of moulding including the corners, together with the options you select.

The calculator accepts artwork up to a perimeter of 180 cm, the limit set for a moulding of this width; larger formats I make to individual order, so please write to me first. The calculator prices the frame alone, without glazing. Lead time is 20 to 30 working days.