Gold leaf gilding: The drawing room at Leighton House

As part of the transformative project 'Hidden Gem to National Treasure', continued efforts are being made to restore the historic house as Frederic Leighton left it, both through new acquisitions as well as conservation and restoration works.

Now looking back to its best and gleaming self, in May 2022 approximately 350 leaves of 23 & ¾ carat gold leaf were used to restore the gilded ceiling roundel in the drawing room of Leighton House.

Using the centuries old technique of oil (also known as mordant) gilding, the project was led by Angel Interiors - the same team who completed the monumental task of re-gilding the dome of the Arab Hall in 2009.

Inside the gilded roundel is a 1987 copy of a 'Sketch for La Paix Vient Consoler les Hommes' by Delacroix, which formed part of Leighton's original collection and for which Leighton had the ceiling in the Drawing Room specially designed to accommodate. After his death in 1896 the painting was sold along with the rest of his collection. The copy now in Leighton House was created in 1987 by artist Timothy Rukavina, with the original now in the Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris.

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