A good example of overpainting or the touching up of the gilding on parts of a frame with gilt paint. The top photo shows the original gilding with no later applied gold paint. The bottom photo shows this part of the frame has been painted with a gold paint, which has oxidised and tarnished over time, leaving the distinct brown bronze colour. The overpainted section is the bottom length of the frame, which would naturally catch more dust than the top section (the other photo), the bottom section would therefore darken quicker, and through cleaning and wiping over would lose the gilding as it is rubbed away over time.
So years ago someone took some gold paint and painted it on the bottom section to replace the worn away gold, and brighten up this area to try and match the rest of the frame, it would have looked OK for a few years but once it tarnished due to exposure to the air (a sealer or varnish would have helped prevent this) it turned this brown bronze colour and does not look very good. The gold paint has also obscured some of the finer detail in the compo ornament.
Despite this it is a good compo frame, very delicate and fine mouldings make up the profile, two narrow sanded flat sections, and nice acanthus leaf pattern.
