Gilding

No way! "all that glitters is not gold" – gilding trade

"To have a golden touch" – that is part of the daily task of people who work in gilding. This is a traditional handcraft technique in which gold leaf is applied to sculptures, frames, or other workpieces with precision and tried-and-tested methods. Gilding is one of the few crafts that has remained true manual labor to this day. Materials and techniques are predominantly used that have hardly changed since antiquity. The various techniques and methods are very diverse and require special knowledge and skills that are passed on from generation to generation.

Max Willi Winkler from Osnabrück and Caroline Meschter from Melle have also acquired this knowledge and these skills. They are some of the few people who still practice this old craft in our region. After completing his training in Berlin, Max Willi Winkler passed his apprenticeship and master craftsman's examinations. Since 2015 he has been offering numerous different services in his own gilding workshop on Blumenhaller Weg.

For Caroline Meschter, gilding is just one of several professional trainings that she has completed. As a carpenter, wood sculptor, frame maker, and master gilder, she draws on a wide range of craftsmanship knowledge, and has already gained valuable experience in numerous places. Among other things, she was involved in the gilding of the magnificent Düben organ in the German Church in Stockholm.
We visited Caroline Meschter in her workshop and got a first-hand impression of her exciting work. Curious? Then take a look behind the scenes of her gilding workshop in this video:

The craft of gilding was included in the nationwide register of intangible cultural heritages by UNESCO in 2016. The main focus of the listing is on the techniques of church painting.