<p>It is true that a lot of work was hand carved, but many elements are made of what is called <em>compo</em>, the exact nature of which varies but is usually a resin, a whitening agent and glue. This material would be used in conjunction with a mold.</p>
<p>So you would have wood carving, compo elements glued (either before or after) a whitewash of gesso, then an application of clay bole, some rabbit-skin glue and then gold leaf.</p>
<p>The following image fragment is taken from the google image search for &quot;antique compo frame mold.&quot; I think one of them is perhaps one of the elements in your closeup.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/o1t5d.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/o1t5d.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-12-15T18:23:22.590Z
compo was also used in architecture.
Yorik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-12-15T18:22:19.507Z
2023-12-15T18:22:19.507Z
Yorik
<p>In many cases decorative elements such as spirals and pearls were hand-carved by skilled craftsmen.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ZJ6lW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ZJ6lW.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>The ornate spirals and pearls on gilded frames were often hand-carved using <strong>chisels</strong> and <strong>gouges</strong>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yHJSw.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yHJSw.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Plenty of <strong>Time</strong> and <strong>Skill</strong> would do the trick, using <strong>specialized carving tools</strong>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-07T14:33:42.007Z
I am a little bit wiser now than when I wrote the post. As I understand, once the technique for moulding was invented it was used more frequently. Speed of production was much faster and the end result was still good. However, I am still no expert but this is how I understood it.
Niklas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-07T16:00:11.977Z
Thats right. Please kindly consider accepting and upvoting my answer, as it took me while to type and provide those information :). Thanks in advance
Art History
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-06T10:24:38.280Z
2023-11-06T10:24:38.280Z
Art History
<p>I am trying to find out what technique was used back then (1700's) when they made those nice gilded frames for, e.g., mirrors. See included image as an example.</p>
<p>How did they do the spirals and pearls that you can see in the image? Did they hand carve the spiral or did they mold them using perhaps rabbit skin glue with french chalk? How come there is almost always a &quot;line&quot; that seems to be running through the entire spiral? How about the pearls? Google hasn't much to say about this...</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yXwtt.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yXwtt.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-08T17:01:26.000Z
Would anything related to hand crank and router tool since it is mentioned it is related to old frames.
Lyssagal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-09T19:15:46.210Z
Niklas, great question.  I suspect the reason it hasn't received an answer yet is the historical time frame.  Many people could weigh in on how to replicate this today.  Far fewer people have expertise on historical methods.  Your question piqued my interest; hope this gets an answer.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-25T17:50:35.997Z
This is a pretty specialized area.  The question is squarely on topic here, but it looks like this site doesn't currently have any subject matter experts.  I think Woodworking would be the only other SE site where the question would be on-topic.  I asked about it there, and the suggestion was to tag such questions with [traditional-techniques].  It isn't clear that Woodworking has SMEs, either, though.
fixer1234
<mold-making><wood-carving><gilding>
How did they make spiral decorations and pearls on old frames?
Niklas
# How did they make spiral decorations and pearls on old frames?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-02-05)

I am trying to find out what technique was used back then (1700's) when they made those nice gilded frames for, e.g., mirrors. See included image as an example.

How did they do the spirals and pearls that you can see in the image? Did they hand carve the spiral or did they mold them using perhaps rabbit skin glue with french chalk? How come there is almost always a "line" that seems to be running through the entire spiral? How about the pearls? Google hasn't much to say about this...

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/yXwtt.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yXwtt.jpg)

**Tags:** mold-making, wood-carving, gilding

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Would anything related to hand crank and router tool since it is mentioned it is related to old frames.  
> **username_2**: username_0, great question.  I suspect the reason it hasn't received an answer yet is the historical time frame.  Many people could weigh in on how to replicate this today.  Far fewer people have expertise on historical methods.  Your question piqued my interest; hope this gets an answer.  
> **username_2**: This is a pretty specialized area.  The question is squarely on topic here, but it looks like this site doesn't currently have any subject matter experts.  I think Woodworking would be the only other SE site where the question would be on-topic.  I asked about it there, and the suggestion was to tag such questions with [traditional-techniques].  It isn't clear that Woodworking has SMEs, either, though.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-12-15. Score: 5

It is true that a lot of work was hand carved, but many elements are made of what is called *compo*, the exact nature of which varies but is usually a resin, a whitening agent and glue. This material would be used in conjunction with a mold.

So you would have wood carving, compo elements glued (either before or after) a whitewash of gesso, then an application of clay bole, some rabbit-skin glue and then gold leaf.

The following image fragment is taken from the google image search for "antique compo frame mold." I think one of them is perhaps one of the elements in your closeup.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/o1t5d.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/o1t5d.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: compo was also used in architecture.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2023-11-06. Score: 3

In many cases decorative elements such as spirals and pearls were hand-carved by skilled craftsmen.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/ZJ6lW.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ZJ6lW.jpg)

The ornate spirals and pearls on gilded frames were often hand-carved using **chisels** and **gouges**.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/yHJSw.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yHJSw.jpg)

Plenty of **Time** and **Skill** would do the trick, using **specialized carving tools**.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I am a little bit wiser now than when I wrote the post. As I understand, once the technique for moulding was invented it was used more frequently. Speed of production was much faster and the end result was still good. However, I am still no expert but this is how I understood it.  
> **username_4**: Thats right. Please kindly consider accepting and upvoting my answer, as it took me while to type and provide those information :). Thanks in advance  

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