Golden Mean only opened in March, but owner Grace Milligan has been planning her artist-focused gift shop and art gallery for many years. Her store has a curated selection of new and vintage home decor items, stunning jewelry and humor-infused greeting cards.
This awe-inspiring howling wolf bronze statue is a piece of artwork to be treasured for years to come. Measures 11″ x 14″.
Relief Panel Artwork
Relief sculpture is sculpted from a raised surface, usually a panel or portion of a larger setting, often with a sequence of several panels that represent an extended narrative. Unlike sculpture in the round, reliefs can convey depth and movement using an illusion of perspective. Figures are the usual subject matter, but reliefs may depict decorative geometrical patterns, foliage or arabesques (in Islamic Qua tang doanh nghiep art) as well as other subjects.
One of the most famous examples of perspective relief is Lorenzo Ghiberti’s “Door to Paradise” on the Baptistery in Florence, executed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. This carved relief depicts a tumultuous seascape of bearded fishermen and winged putti hauling a bursting net aboard their boats. This piece, part of a set of five panels portraying marine scenes, was commissioned for a church with a maritime function. David Nosanchuk’s gold patterned wallpaper, “Hexagonal Geometric Pattern in Luminous Material,” is translated from an element of this relief for Flavor Paper.
Gilded Bronze Figure
Bronze was an extremely expensive metal in antiquity, so gilding it gave a cheaper alternative for creating gold-like decorative objects and furniture mounts. The gilding process was laborious. A very thin layer of molten gold was applied to the surface of an object made of bronze and then a coating of reddish-brown patina was applied over it. The quality of a gilt bronze decorative art piece depended on the skill of the sculptor, as well as the craftsmanship involved in the chiseling that produced an illusion of depth.
A gilded bronze figure of a seated woman in Hellenistic or Roman dress. The head and hands are carved very finely and the body is very heavy. It is anchored on an alabaster circular base.
Gilt bronze, also known as ormolu, was an important decorative technique for the 18th and 19th centuries. The gilding was applied by brushing a very thin layer of molten gold onto the surface of a solid bronze object, often after it had been dipped in acid. The gilding would wear off with use and was reapplied periodically.
This gilded bronze figure of the Tibetan Buddha Vajrasattva, or Diamond Thunderbolt, sits in the full lotus position. Although much of the gilding has worn off, the back facet of the pedestal retains substantial gilding.
Gold Mosaic Mural Decorations
Gold gilded murals with simulated tessellation were an important development in the changing dynamic between painting and mosaic in the late Middle Ages. They emphasized the importance of gold as an element of decorative design, as well as the use of tesserae rather than whole leaves of part gold (a laminate produced by beating two sheets of gold together). This hollow resin deco-sphere is covered with golden-colored mirrored mosaic pieces, making it stunning from every angle.
