Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

Towards the second half of the 15th century, painted enamels were successfully produced. It was at Limoges that the technique of painted enamel quickly caught on. People began to buy enamel paintings. Enamel artists were given commissions. During the 16th century in Italy, enamels were produced mostly in the workshop at Florence under De Medici's influence. In the 17th century the technique of enamelling was widely used throughout Europe for both religious and personal objects. Gradually during the course of the 18th century, enamel became an important medium for the decoration of small objects, bracelets, jewellery boxes, ash trays etc. From the beginning of this century there has been a change. The enamels of the 20th century are made with especially inventive combinations. During recent decades jewellery enamels have fre- quently been used for interior and exterior decoration. In the years around 1960 architectured enamels were emerging for whole mu- rals to decorate buildings. Table ware like bowls, boxes and pictures were made besides jewellery. Apart from these items, sculptures with enamel paintings were also produced. In Italy the greatest enamellist of this century, maestro Paolo De Poli, in collaboration with the great designer, Gio Ponti, began to produce unique enamel pieces of both functional and artistic characteristics. Great painters like Gino Severini and sculptors like Marcello Mascherini were the other collaborators with De Poli. (B.N.)

through the removal of parts of a copper plate, literally "removed field." The Cloisonne technique is more linear and, therefore, has a more rigid effect. In the Champleve technique there is relatively, freedom of design, however, the greater thickness of the Cloisonne wall permits the use of gold or silver foils. The Bassettaille or translucid enamel method belongs to the painted enamel technique, obtained when low relief etching is accomplished on a plate in gold, silver or copper. Painted enamel, which generally is in a pictorial format, may be transparent or opaque. Commonly copper is used as the base metal. However, foils of gold or silver can also be used over or in between the layers of enamels which,- when completed, gives a unique aesthetic ap- peal. The dyes used in enamel are different metal oxides which, naturally react in different ways to fire. Thus, care has to be taken and one starts with the colours with a higher degree of fusion which are translucid and interact for reflection. The colours, which melt at lower temperatures, are used last. In the early times, enamel was used to decorate models, belt buckles, pendants, jewellery, knife handles, tiny boxes to store precious stones etc. By the 12th century, the enamel technique was perfected and refined with the introduction of the Champleve method. The French school of Limoges had become famous even during the 12th century. Almost simultaneously Rhine-Maas dis- tricts too began to flourish in enamel art.