When Donald Trump revealed plans for a gilded ballroom in the White House, critics noted the irony of reviving a style once tied to monarchy and excess. Gilding—the art of overlaying gold on ordinary objects—dates back over 4,000 years and is believed to have begun in the North African civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. While it was once a powerful symbol of status, it also came to embody inequality, eventually leading to the downfall of France’s ancien régime. The US embraced the trend during its own Gilded Age, with wealthy families flaunting European-style opulence. Yet today, “quiet luxury” has replaced gold’s glitz. Trump’s gilded ballroom plans, however, draw on a vocabulary of power that contrasts sharply with America’s democratic ideals.
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