See Also: cloisonne(dictionary)
cloisonne(encyclopedia)

cloisonne (sh)




Enameling technique.

Delicate strips of gold, brass, silver, copper, or other metal wire are welded to a metal plate in the shape of a design, and the resulting cellular spaces are filled with vitreous enamel paste that is fired, ground smooth, and polished. The earliest surviving examples are six 13th-centuryBC Mycenaean rings. The technique reached its peak in the West during the Byzantine Empire. Chinese cloisonne was widely produced during the Ming and Qing dynasties; in Japan it was popular in the Edo and Meiji periods. See also enamelwork.