When relief is built into the gesso ground before gilding, the gold conforms to those shapes. A raised form becomes a raised golden surface. A recessed area becomes recessed gold. The three-dimensional structure is preserved and articulated by the gold surface.
Light reads relief differently than flat surfaces. A raised area catches highlight. A recessed area holds shadow (or, in this case, reveals the black ground beneath). This creates visual depth and movement. A flat, uniformly burnished gold surface is beautiful but static. A relief-textured gold surface is dynamic. It changes as light and viewing angle change.
Historically, architectural ornament and fine frames used relief gilding extensively. The relief was often carved into wood, then gilded. At NoirGold.Art, relief is built using texture paste, acrylic medium, or carved elements. The result is a gold surface that has dimensionality and visual complexity. The raised and recessed elements create the final composition, not just the burnishing.