Black Dutch-Style Picture Frame with a Gold Sight Edge – Lunaria 2

This black picture frame for oil paintings has a classic, coved profile in the Dutch Old Master tradition: a deep, ebonised black moulding lifted by a fine gold line at the sight edge. The 75 mm face, the sweeping cove and the rounded outer crown recall the gallery frames once used to settle a painting into its surroundings, where black quietened the wall and gold underlined the edge of the work. It belongs to my black picture frames and is made entirely to measure, for collectors and serious buyers of art.

Moulding profile

From the artwork side the moulding opens with a narrow raised lip carrying a fine, hand-laid gold line that separates the canvas from the black. Beyond the lip the surface drops into a broad, deep cove that sweeps across most of the width and rises gradually towards the outer edge. At the outer edge the cove is crowned by a full, rounded ovolo, the highest point of the profile, which gives the frame a soft, sculptural play of light. The moulding then steps down towards the back, with a second, smaller rounded bead on the outer flank and a flat back face against the wall.

Specification

• style: classic, coved gallery frame
• finish: hand-painted black, satin sheen, sealed with shellac and wax
• moulding width: 75 mm
• moulding depth: 52 mm
• rabbet: 7 mm wide, 10 - 20 mm deep
• material: solid, low-tannin timber used in museum and conservation work
• corner joinery: mitred at 45° and reinforced with wooden splines
• gilding: gold line at the sight edge, hand-gilded in real gold leaf (23-karat, 22-karat moon gold or 12-karat white gold) over your chosen bole, burnished with an agate stone
• glass, backing and matting: additional options (full archival and museum framing to order)
• artwork retention: spring clips as standard, brass plates with screws on request
• hanging: picture cord as standard, a single D-ring on request
• suitable for: oil and acrylic on canvas, classic reproductions, portraits, landscapes, works on paper and photography

The dimensions above describe the complete frame including the moulding. The opening for the artwork is correspondingly smaller, and I make each frame to the exact size of the painting.

Which paintings and interiors it suits

The deep rabbet and 52 mm of depth let the frame take thicker artist's stretchers with ease. It is at its best around oil and acrylic paintings on canvas, classic reproductions, portraits and landscapes, yet it frames works on paper and fine-art photography just as well. Black with a gold sight edge is a gallery solution: it orders a hang and lifts the standing of the work. In an interior it suits classic, refined and darker schemes, libraries, studies and formal living rooms. If you want to match the form to the painting, I cover the tradition in my guide to Dutch frames and the black gallery profile.

How it is made and finished

I build every frame from scratch. The lengths are cut at 45° and joined with wooden splines before finishing, so the corners stay tight for years. I lay the gesso and bole ground in several coats, then hand-paint the black. The gold line at the sight edge is water-gilded, leaf by leaf with a narrow overlap, and once dry it is burnished with an agate stone so the edge gains real depth. Finally I seal the frame with shellac and wax for a durable, satin finish. The gold is laid in a single layer of real leaf; only the ground beneath it is built up in layers.

How it differs from mass production

This is a hand-made frame, not a length of factory moulding. The body is solid, low-tannin timber rather than MDF or foil-wrapped foam. The gold line is real gold leaf laid on water, not a print or a metallic film. The mitres are spline-joined, each frame is made to measure and finished by hand, so the black and the patina carry their own character. Only a small number of these frames leave the workshop each year, which is what allows every detail to be checked.

Functionality

The frame is supplied without glass, ready for a painting on a stretcher. The 20 mm rabbet depth takes standard and thicker stretchers. Any of my profiles can also be made without a rabbet, as a floating (shadow) frame, where the painting appears to hover inside the moulding with a narrow reveal around it. I set out how I approach oil painting framing on a dedicated page: framing oil paintings.

Frequently asked questions

Will it take a thick stretcher? Yes. A 7 mm wide, 20 mm deep rabbet and 52 mm of moulding depth take the thicker stretchers of contemporary painting.

Can I choose the shade of the gold line? Yes. You can choose 23-karat yellow gold, 22-karat moon gold or 12-karat white gold, as well as the colour of the bole beneath it.

Is the frame made to measure? Yes, each one is built to the size of your painting, with a technical allowance of about 2 to 3 mm.

Can I order this frame without the gold line? Yes, the moulding can be finished in plain black; please get in touch and we will agree the configuration.

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.

Fixing and hanging

As standard the painting is held by spring clips, factory-fitted: they rotate, so swapping the work is quick. On request I prepare brass plates with screws, supplied loose for a permanent fixing you fit yourself. For hanging there is a picture cord as standard; a single D-ring is fitted on request, and portrait or landscape orientation is chosen with the order.

Made-to-measure ordering

The base price shown is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the painting is not the whole length the frame needs: the 45° mitres take extra length, more so the wider the moulding. The calculator accounts for the full use of moulding with the mitres and any options, and it handles paintings up to 120 × 80 cm; larger formats are made to individual order. The lead time is 20 to 30 working days.