Bole is a finely ground clay traditionally used in water gilding to enhance the final appearance of gilt surfaces. The color of the bole under the leaf significantly affects the look of the gilded surface, making it a crucial tool for creating unique and original finishes with genuine and metal leaf.

Bole Clay for Water Gilding The Traditional Water Gilding Technique allows the artist to lay gold leaf onto a soft clay ground that has been prepared with a natural glue, such as Rabbit Skin Glue.

Clay Bole is used in traditional water gilding and is applied over the gesso. Our clay bole is a wet clay that must be mixed with an adhesive, which is normally Rabbit Skin Glue that has been prepared by being dissolved in water and heated.

Gilder’s burnish clay, or clay bole, is an essential part of the traditional water gilding system with gold and silver leaf. Applied in multiple thin coats over a primed or gesso surface, burnish clay allows water-gilded gold or silver to be polished to a mirror gloss finish.

Soft Clay Bole for Watergilding Techniques. Sinopia has made the illusive art of laying and burnishing gold on a soft ground an accessible process, for both novices and masters. The Sinopia Clay Boles are manufactured in house and have undergone years of …

We offer a selection of Clay Boles that can be used in water gilding. Each color will affect the color tone of the gold leaf differently. Clay Boles are available in 4 ounce containers. 16 ounce containers are available in more popular colors, but can be …

Armenian bole, also known as bolus armenus or bole armoniac, is an earthy clay, usually red, native to Armenia but also found in other places. The term Armenian was later referred to a specific quality of the clay. Originally used in medication, it has also been used as a pigment, as a poliment or base for gilding, and for other uses. [1] .

While achieving highly reflective gilded surface can take years of practice, the Sinopia Clay Bole is user friendly enough, so that even novices can achieve beautifully polished surfaces. Contrary to popular belief, when a gilded surface is burnished, it is not the gold leaf that gets polished, but the soft clay surface beneath the leaf.

Bole is a finely ground clay that is used in Traditional Water gilding. Genuine clay Bole is an ideal substrate for use with an Agate Burnishing tool to create the mirror shine that so defines the Traditional Water Gilt surface.