Today were are going to do something a bit different than normal, and take a detailed look at an intersection of arms and art: gold damascene. This is a type of art used to embellish a wide variety of objects, including firearms.

Gold damascene enjoyed a renaissance in Spain in the mid 1850s thanks to the work of a man named Placido Zuloaga and his father. During this time, and at Placido’s hands, the form changed from a simple background to show off engraving into a technique of primary artistry.

In this video, we will look at:

What gold damascening actually is (compared to other forms of artistic embellishment)

How the art form developed from the 1850s until the current day

How damascening is actually done

The main different styles

How to discern good damascening from outstanding damascening and mediocre damascening

Hopefully, this will leave you with both a new appreciation and a new understanding of damascening!