Nunome Zogan

Gold is included on the European Chemical Society’s Endangered Elements list (2019). Gold is considered of “limited availability with a future risk to supply”. Gold, although found in many localities in Japan was never abundant. Japan’s frequent sumptuary laws also meant that gold was always a metal to be used sparingly. Consequently, Japanese metalsmiths developed various techniques that use a minimal amount of gold for maximum effect. These techniques include creating gold alloys (eg. Shakudo 95% copper 5% Gold), depletion gilding (bringing the gold to the surface) and different types of overlay and inlay that use thin gold foils (eg. 0.02mm thick).

Nunome Zogan means cloth weave overlay and uses very thin foils - 0.02mm thick and the gold is attached to the base metal by creating a cross-hatched ground made with chisels. Around 7 - 9 chisel marks per mm created in three different directions at 45 degrees to each other. The technique is a type of Damascening that was introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th Century.

The technique was originally used on Iron and Steel to decorate weapons although more recent practitioners have expanded this to include copper, brass and sterling silver. I have been experimenting with this technique on sterling silver. It is a difficult technique to master as very little information is available. This is perhaps in part due to the Japanese teaching philosophy which encourages the student to discover for themselves what works as part of their education. I am particularly interested to see if the gold recovered from electronic waste can be rolled into thin foils and used in this frugal technique.