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8 results for: Ormolu
Dictionary Entries (5 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
or·mo·lu    Audio Help   [awr-muh-loo] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Also called mosaic gold. an alloy of copper and zinc used to imitate gold.
2.Also called bronze doré, gilt bronze. gilded metal, esp. cast brass or bronze gilded over fire with an amalgam of gold and mercury, used for furniture mounts and ornamental objects.
3.gold or gold powder prepared for use in gilding.
[Origin: 1755–65; < F or moulu ground gold, equiv. to or (< L aurum) + moulu, ptp. of moudre to grind < L molere]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopedia Articles (1 more entry. View all »)
Columbia Electronic EncyclopediaCite This Source


ormolu, finish used on metal to imitate gold. It is employed chiefly for furniture mountings. The term originally applied to a coating of ground gold and was extended to alloys of copper and zinc. Ormolu mountings were characteristic of 18th-century furniture and attained their highest artistic and technical development in France, especially in the work of Charles Cressent, Pierre Gouthière, and Jacques Caffieri. Ormolu was produced on a large scale in England, with Matthew Boulton the chief manufacturer. Workmanship deteriorated in the 19th cent. 
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
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