Traditional Clay Bole

A Genuine Clay Ground for Traditional Water Gilding

What is 'Bole'? And Why Do We Use It?

Bole is a finely ground clay traditionally used in water gilding to enhance the final appearance of gilt surfaces. The color of the bole under the leaf significantly affects the look of the gilded surface, making it a crucial tool for creating unique and original finishes with genuine and metal leaf.


Why Choose Traditional Clay Bole?

Traditionally, bole was made from clay. When mixed with the right proportions of animal hide glue, it creates an ideal base for applying genuine gold leaf. Genuine clay bole provides an excellent substrate for use with an agate burnishing tool, producing the mirror shine that characterizes traditional water-gilded surfaces. True clay bole is typically used in traditional water gilding applications such as icons, furniture, frames, and other objects. While paint is often used as a substitute today, true clay bole remains unmatched for achieving authentic results.


The Role of Burnish Clay in Gilding

Gilder’s burnish clay, or clay bole, is an essential component of the traditional water gilding system with gold and silver leaf. Applied in multiple thin coats over a primed or gessoed surface, burnish clay allows water-gilded gold or silver to be polished to a mirror-like gloss finish.

Learn more about mixing hide glues with clay and making gesso.

Classic Gray

White Gold with Gray Bole

Neoclassical

White Gold with Black Bole

Traditional

White Gold with Terrecotte Bole

Traditional Bole Colors

Colors shown below are traditional bole colors, and represent the true clay bole colors we offer as our 'pre-mixed Kohlner Instaclay colors'.

Classic Gold
For Gold and Imitation Gold

Benjamin Moore 2154-40 - YORK HARBOR YELLOW

Traditional Terre-cotte - for Gold, Imitation Gold and Copper Leaf

Benjamin Moore HC-51 - AUDUBON RUSSET

Classic Gray - for White metals, including Silver and Imitation Silver

Benjamin Moore 2132-40 - ECLIPSE

For 'Simulated Bole' Applications Using Paint

Recommended Paint Types

For simulated bole applications, you can use both latex and oil-based paints. Innaddition to artist paints, house paint from major paint maunufacturers work great too. We recommend an eggshell sheen finish. The color numbers referenced above are based on Benjamin Moore paint swatches that closely match the true clay bole color tones. Alternatively, you can take these color numbers to your local paint supply store, such as Sherwin Williams, Behr, Dulux, Pittsburgh, Pratt and Lambert, and many others, for color matching. Your local store will have the codes to match these colors accurately.


Experimenting with Different Bole Colors Under Your Gilding

Using different colors of bole under your gilding can significantly affect the overall appearance of the finished product. Here are some examples:

Traditional Terra-Cotta: Adds warmth to both gold and silver leaf.

Black Bole: Creates a harder, colder look, ideal for Art Deco or Neoclassical pieces.

Yellow Bole: When used with genuine or imitation gold, it evens out the overall appearance and reduces the visibility of any cracks or 'holidays' on the gilded surface.

Change it up and experiment with different colors to achieve the desired effect for your gilding projects.