Consider the timeless gold leaf and the Indian narrative traditions it adorns. In Tanjore paintings, gold leaf is lavishly layered over chalk, gum, and paint, capturing light with an enduring radiance. Miniature paintings use it differently, applying it in the faintest of whispers with precise, needlepoint detail.
It’s hammered into gossamer-thin leaves, crafted into intricate jewellery, shaped into solid bricks, and woven into textiles. It exists in the ornate and the practical, bridging the past and the present through its beauty and utility.