Black & Moon Gold Custom Picture Frame — 22-Karat Gold Leaf

A picture frame for collectors of contemporary work where the moulding should defer to the painting and quietly assert craft. The face and outer side are a deep, hand-painted satin black, finished with wax — not the plastic gloss of factory lacquer, but a soft, fabric-like reflection that absorbs light. The inner bevel carries water-gilded 22-karat moon gold leaf, an alloy of gold and silver that reads markedly cooler than classic 23-karat yellow gold, almost silver-cast in some lights. Laid over grey clay bole and burnished with an agate stone, the leaf catches light against the black like a single drawn line.

The profile combines contemporary geometry with traditional finishing. The main surface is a flat face terminating outward in a narrow chamfer that softens the edge — both in satin black, wax-finished. The vertical outer side continues in black, leading the eye up the moulding. Inside, an angled inner bevel drops toward the rabbet — this is the gilded surface, water-laid and burnished to a mirror sheen. A small step at the foot of the bevel transitions into the rabbet, where the work is held. The hierarchy reads cleanly: matte black as setting, burnished metal as a single line of accent.

Suited to

This frame is a versatile collector's mount with a clearly defined personality. It accepts oil and acrylic painting well — particularly compositions in restrained palettes (earth tones, blacks, whites, ochres, cobalt and prussian blues), where the cool gold of the inner bevel sets up a colour dialogue with the work rather than a competition. It also frames artistic photography (black-and-white and colour), printmaking (etching, lithograph, linocut), watercolours, and works on paper. Moon gold, gentler than 23K yellow gold, pairs better with cool and monochromatic palettes than warm yellow leaves do.

In interiors, the frame sits comfortably with modernist and gallery-led architecture — minimalist living rooms in quieted palettes, studies in walnut and brass, gallery walls in muted tones (taupe, olive, anthracite, putty). The black holds visual order; the gold contributes a single accent of warmth carried in the geometry of the moulding. Other models in this family are available in the black picture frames collection.

Specification

• Style: contemporary, collector-grade, with a traditional gilded element
• Frame material: solid low-tannin timber, the type used in museum and conservation framing
• Construction: mortise-and-loose-tenon joinery prior to finishing
• Moulding width: 45 mm (1.77 in)
• Moulding depth: 35–40 mm (1.38–1.57 in)
• Profile: flat face with outer chamfer, inner bevel, step, rabbet
• Rabbet: 7 mm width; depth 15 mm or 20 mm (two moulding versions in the variant menu)
• Black finish: hand-applied paint, satin sheen, hand-waxed
• Gold finish: 22-karat moon gold leaf on grey clay bole, agate-burnished, sealed with shellac and wax
• Artwork retention in rabbet: spring clips or brass plates with screws (selectable)
• Hanging: cord standard; single D-ring on request
• Hanging orientation: portrait or landscape (selected in the variant menu)
• Floater frame variant: available as a shadow-box / floater for canvases on stretcher with exposed edge — on request
• Lead time: 20–30 working days
• Sold without glass, as a setting for canvas on stretcher (full archival mounting available on request)

Dimensions entered in the calculator refer to the full outer frame. The window opening is smaller by the moulding width. The frame is built 2–3 mm larger than the artwork dimensions you provide — a technical tolerance allowing the work to seat without stress. Rabbet overlap on the artwork is approximately 4–5 mm. The base price is a per-running-metre price for the moulding. Mitred 45° corners take additional length — proportionally more on wider mouldings. The calculator factors in full waste at corners and the selected add-ons.

Workshop process

The frame is built in stages, all by hand. Solid low-tannin timber — the kind used in museum and conservation work — is cut, fitted, and joined with mortise-and-tenon joinery before any finish goes on. Only once the structure is fully fitted does it move to surface work. The satin black is brushed in successive coats, each carefully smoothed between drying cycles; the final surface is hand-waxed for a soft, fabric-like reflection that no spray can produce.

The gilding follows the traditional water-gilding method. The inner bevel is first laid with a coat of grey clay bole — a soft ground for the leaf that also influences the final tone of the metal. Sheets of moon gold leaf measure roughly 80 × 80 mm; for the narrow bevel they are cut by hand on a leather gilder's cushion using a gilder's knife. Each fragment is placed individually, picked up with a gilder's tip, laid into position, and burnished with an agate stone to a mirror finish. The gilding is sealed with shellac and wax — the traditional finish for coloured frames, which deepens the metal and stabilises the patina over time.

How this differs from production framing

In a factory frame, "gold" is typically yellow paint or dutch metal — a copper-zinc imitation that darkens and shifts toward green over time. Black is sprayed lacquer with an even, plastic gloss. Mouldings are joined with glue and staples, with veneer over an MDF core.

This frame is different. The gold is real moon gold leaf (a gold-and-silver alloy, 22 karats), water-gilded and agate-burnished — it reflects light unlike any sprayed metal. The black is built from hand-applied coats and finished with wax — a soft reflection rather than a laboratory-flat one. The mortise-and-tenon joinery means the corners are mechanically registered, not just glued — visible at close range, and decisive for longevity once factory adhesives age.

Mounting and hanging

The frame is sold without glass, as a setting for a canvas on stretcher or another support (panel, board, perspex). A complete archival mounting — glass, Dibond backing, matting — is available as an add-on on request (section below).

Artwork retention in the rabbet

Selectable from the variant menu:

• Spring clips — factory-fitted inside the rabbet. Once the work is seated, the clips press it evenly against the moulding; rotating them aside allows the work to be swapped quickly. A reusable solution.
• Brass plates with screws — supplied loose with the frame, screws included. The customer fits the plates to the back edge of the stretcher. A permanent, discreet mounting in the manner of gallery framing.

Hanging

Hanging orientation — portrait or landscape — is selected from the variant menu; the frame is factory-prepared in the chosen orientation. Standard hanging is by cord attached to fixings on either side. On request, a single D-ring hanger is fitted in place of cord.

Complete framing — additional options

Every frame can be completed with a full archival mounting prepared in the workshop: glass, archival backing and matting. All components are available as a custom add-on — quote on request.

Glass — four classes available

Opti White, 4mm — low-iron glass with a neutral, colourless appearance (no green tint typical of standard float glass). Available up to 90×90 cm — the only option for larger works.

Ultra Vue UV70 (Tru Vue), 2.0mm — anti-reflective glass with 70% UV protection, low-iron. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Art View — premium-class anti-reflective glass: reflection reduced below 1%, up to 75% UV protection, scratch-resistant coating, low-iron, can be cut and mounted from either side. Meets ISO 18916 (Photographic Activity Test) — safe for archival photography. Premium quality at an accessible price. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Optium Museum Acrylic (Tru Vue) — top-tier museum acrylic: over 99% UV protection, museum-grade reflection reduction, anti-static, lightweight, shatter-resistant. The museum standard for conservation work and archival photography. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Archival backing

Dibond 3mm aluminium composite panel — two layers of aluminium with an acid-free polymer core. Rigid, chemically neutral, dimensionally stable. An industry standard in archival photographic framing and art conservation.

Mounting and matting

Acid-free foam board — chemically neutral, will not yellow over time, will not react with paper or photographic emulsions. Archival standard.

Full museum framing

Combining anti-reflective UV-filtering glass, acid-free matting, Dibond backing and conservation hinging tapes provides a museum-grade mounting — protecting the work from light damage, acid migration from typical framing materials, and mechanical distortion. This type of framing is used in museums, galleries and private collections.

To order: all of the above components are available as a frame add-on on request. Please get in touch with the dimensions of your work and your preferred glass class — I will prepare an individual quote.

Made to measure

Each frame is built to the dimensions of the specific work. Measure the width and height of your artwork (canvas: outer edge of the stretcher; panel or board: edge of the support) and enter the dimensions in the calculator with 0.1 cm precision. The standard 2–3 mm technical tolerance is added by the workshop — no need to add it yourself. From the variant menu, choose the rabbet depth (15 mm for thinner works and studio stretchers, 20 mm for deeper stretchers), artwork retention, hanging orientation, and any additional options. Lead time: 20–30 working days.

Each frame is built individually; further personalisation is available on request — different bole colour, different leaf type or silver (6K or 12K white gold, sterling silver leaf, palladium, classic 23K yellow gold), different black tone or finish (wax-finished satin or high-gloss lacquer), full archival mounting.