"MG 42," a tiny panel with gold leaf pressed on measuring only 21 by 12 centimeters, or 8 inches by about 5, was sold for £481,250.
Lee's Art Shop is known for its traditional art supplies, as well as for all sorts of unusual crafts objects, from beads to leaf presses to tools for Ukrainian egg decorating.
After the pattern has been incised into the lacquer surface with a fine chisel, raw lacquer is rubbed into the grooves as an adhesive for gold dust or gold leaf pressed into them.
If you're of a certain age, you probably remember a childhood filled with explorations of the natural world: magnifying glasses, Sea Monkeys, leaf presses, ant farms, at-home chemistry sets, volcano science fair projects, telescopes and microscopes, and more.
In "The Bells of Saint John", the Doctor finds a preserved leaf pressed between the pages of Clara's book, 101 Places to See.
There are bits of leaf mold pressed into her cheek.
For half-modeled or completely round reliefs, the gold leaf was pressed onto wooden or bronze models.
This year these little biennials, which spend their first growing season as a leaf rosette pressed close to the ground, were flowering in their thousands.
The petiole end of each leaf was pressed into a piece of wet cotton to maintain the turgidity of the leaf for a longer period.
"Do you know what?" Macfarlane said, picking up a paper towel that enfolded a pressed leaf.
