Goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads, and particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper. The metal wires used to make the threads have never been entirely gold; they have always been gold-coated silver (silver-gilt) or more common metals. Goldwork is always a surface and free embroidery; the vast majority is a form of laid work or couching. Goldwork was originally developed in Asia, and dates back before the birth of Christ. Its use reached a remarkable and coveted level of skill in the Middle Ages, when a style called Opus Anglicanum was developed in England and used extensively in church vestments and hangings. After this period it was also used frequently in the clothing and furnishings of the royalty and nobility throughout Europe, and still later on military and other regalia. Goldwork remains a rarefied skill, even among embroiderers who work in other free embroidery styles; it is now most commonly used for the highest-quality church vestments and art embroidery.
