The bronze lamp was decorated with a layer of fire-gilding.
Tips
history
Rare as a standalone word in modern Chinese. It survives mainly in 鎏金 (fire-gilding, the ancient mercury-amalgam gold plating seen on bronzes); it is also a variant of 镏.
culture
鎏金 was a prized craft from the Warring States period on; museum bronzes labeled this way still carry their ancient gilded shine.
