Mercury silvering

The process was invented during the Middle Ages and is documented in Vannoccio Biringuccio's 1540 book De la pirotechnia.

The technique is dangerous since mercury is highly toxic, especially in its vapor phase.

Mercury silvering can be detected through a variety of methods.

The technique was also used in Asia, for example tokin plating in Edo-period Japan.

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French ormolu mantel clock (around 1800) by Julien Béliard (born 1758 – died after 1806), Paris . The clock case by Claude Galle (1758–1815).