Sisters on ‘mission’ to revive the magnificent 17th-century craft of gilded leather-making – and the results are breathtaking – The First News
Kurdybany
A workshop in Krakow uses 17e and 18e century-old techniques in Spain to revive the forgotten profession of golden leather.
Decorative material recognized for its exceptional beauty and shimmering relief patterns, golden leather is a vegetable tanned skin, usually calfskin, covered with silver leaf, embossed and hand painted using the glossy painting technique.
Used among other things to decorate wall panels, gilded leather was once used to adorn the most luxurious noble interiors, including castles and palaces.
An extremely time-consuming craft that involves many steps requiring great precision and manual labor, designs were once used to adorn the most luxurious noble interiors, including castles and palaces.
Agnieszka Kosakowska and Ewa Zielinska from the Consiste workshop in Krakow told TFN: “For us, producing golden leather is a mission rather than something we do for profit.
Average production time can take up to five months with some items taking longer depending on the treatment and lacquer coats used.
“We inherited the technology of producing golden leather from our parents who began to research methods of preserving the material in the 1990s.
“The preservation of golden leather is popular, but its production is not.
Gold leather can also be used as a decorative coating for bags and jewelry.
“As far as we know, we are the only ones who present ourselves as having our own gold leather workshop.”
Average production time can take up to five months with some items taking longer depending on the treatment and lacquer coats used.
Decorative material recognized for its exceptional beauty and shimmering relief patterns, golden leather is a vegetable tanned skin, usually calfskin, covered with silver leaf, embossed and hand painted using the glossy painting technique. (Photo Elvyra Saletis)
Founding their workshop in 2014, the two sisters were first inspired by their parents, both art restorers, who worked on the conservation of historic Venetian golden leathers at the Royal Wawel Castle in Krakow, where Anna will also be working more late in the restoration of the gilding of Wawel Castle. leather furniture.
Originating in the medieval Middle East, after being imported to Spain, golden leather became so popular that the city of Cordoba became the first city in mainland Europe to become famous in its production, with the golden age falling in turn of 17e and 18e centuries.
Their biggest project to date is the royal interiors of the historic Wierzynek Restaurant in Krakow’s Main Market Square.
Other countries, including Italy and the Flemish countries, have also started to produce golden leathers.
To date, the workshop has carried out commissions including interiors for a famous restaurant in Krakow, a wine cellar in Gdansk and a church in Podlasie.
The sisters told TFN that producing gold leather was “a mission.”
The sisters, who have a background in art conservation and graphic design, are currently working on a folding screen and designing their own line of gold leather trinket boxes.
Their biggest project was the royal interiors of the historic Wierzynek Restaurant in Krakow’s Main Market Square.
Originating in the medieval Middle East, after being imported to Spain, golden leather became so popular that the city of Cordoba became the first city in mainland Europe to become famous in its production, with the golden age falling in turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Completed in 2015, Anna and Ewa have provided over 150 pieces including large-scale wall panels with a unique copyrighted design to the restaurant with two birds, “ the Wierzynek birds ” from a painting historic in the restaurant, set in a motif of larger birds of paradise.
The sisters said, “We want to target the luxury gift market, people who want a special gift for someone and also hotel interiors.
The workshop also designed interiors for a famous restaurant in Krakow, a church in Podlasie and a wine cellar in Gdansk (pictured).
“Our dream is to have a bigger workshop with a showroom where an interior designer can easily come and see what he wants.”
For more information, visit the website http://kurdybany.pl./.