A short history of the gilding of bronze objects. The beginnings of this technique in the prehistoric Near East is described in comparison to the geographically isolated China, and is followed through late Roman classical times. All the scientifically proven techniques are dealt with, e.g., foil-gilding, gold leaf gilding, diffusion bonding, the cold mercury method, and fire gilding. The classical literary sources as well as the more recent natural science analysis methods are discussed.