| 释义 |
ormolu|ˈɔːməluː|
[a. F. or moulu, lit. ‘ground gold’.]
Originally, Gold or gold-leaf ground and prepared for gilding brass, bronze, or other metal; hence, gilded bronze used in the decoration of furniture, etc. Now, An alloy of copper, zinc, and tin, having the colour of gold.
1765H. Walpole Lett., to H. S. Conway 6 Oct. (1846) V. 82 A large funnel of bronze with or moulu, like a column. 1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Birmingham, Their ornamental pieces in Or-Moulu are highly esteemed all over Europe. 1819Act 59 Geo. III, c. 52. §36 Any Articles..ornamented with or manufactured wholly or partly of Or Moulu. 1831Carlyle Sart. Res. i. iv, A whole immensity of Brussels carpets, and pier-glasses, and or-moulu. 1852Motley Corr. (1889) I. v. 138 Cabinets and caskets of every age, of mother-of-pearl, agate, amber, ivory, buhl and ormolu. 1875Ure's Dict. Arts III. 461 Or-molu, a brass in which there is less zinc and more copper than in the ordinary brass; the object being to obtain a nearer imitation of gold than ordinary brass affords.
b. attrib. and Comb., as ormolu clock; ormolu-varnish, a copper, bronze, or imitation-gold varnish, also called ‘Mosaic gold’.
1825C. M. Westmacott English Spy I. 334 Enriched with ormolu chasings. 1842Barham Ingol. Leg., Bloudie Jacke xiv, To gaze at your vases, Your pictures and or-molu clocks. |