I have only picked up on this thread but may be able to some insight to the discussion. I am a bit hazy on the precise dates as it has been some time since I have used this info.
The art of laying gold leaf is called gilding and the person who applies gold leaf is a gilder. The development of gold leaf is traced back to ancient Egypt where gold leaf was applied to funery items (approx. 3000 bce from memory).
The art was not picked up in Europe until aprox. 12th century. By the time of the renaissance gilding was an accomplished art and the same methods for the production of the leaf and application cannot be bettered today. I speak from the viewpoint of a gilder.
Giding was used extensively in manuscripts, on icons and solid objects (statues) and as an architectural embellishment. The application to tarot cards was really a natural progression and the art of gilding was part of every artists training. The proliferation of gilding in this period in way detracts from the beauty and skill involved inthese cards.
The Visconti/Sforza deck are a favourite of mine and form the basis of an extensive study.
As mentioned in an earlier post giving the history of paper making in Europe, linen was a source of raw material for paper. This was actually for economic reasons as it was found that old clothing could be rendered down and the fibre reclaimed to make paper cheaper than the processing of woob based products. Today linen paper is highly regarded by artists for its archival qualities.
The cards were produced on sheets of paper using wood blocks, cut out and pasted onto a backing card. Herein lay a big problem. The glues used would often "bleed" through the paper in time and even cause the paper to break down. The most durable glues of the time were made from boiling Scraps of parchment (animal hide) until it formed a glutenous solution and then strained.
The same process was also done with fish heads. This was by far the better glue for archival purposes.
The paints used were a water paint that was also used in the illuminated manuscripts that we normally associated with the period. The equivalent artists paint today is called designers gouache. It is the same basic formulation as used by the icon painters. By adding a drop of egg yolk it the becomes egg tempura, much favoured by icon painters.
The egg adds adhesion to the paint and can also be used to give extra depth to colour as well as turning a naturally matt finis into a subtle satin finish. If the egg yolk was overdone , this caused other problems.
I hope this reply has added some value to the thread and not caused too much confusion.
Geomancer
