There is probably no art technique in common use today that is more misunderstood, or that has to be constantly explained to the public, than the art of Enamelling on Metal. The word "enamel" can also be taken to mean, resinous paints for decorative kitchen chairs, brightly coloured lacquer for fingernails, a superior automobile finish or the outer coating of our teeth. To the artist enamelling means only one thing, the process of applying a coat of glass to a metal which when heated to a high temperature becomes fused to the metal, bringing additional colour and life to the finished piece of art.

Enamels date back to early dynastic times in Sumeria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Byzantine Empire then took the art form through to Medieval Europe and excited the imagination of the early French and Germans, then spread it into the Asian countries, where Japan has a long history of following the practice. China was also doing much enamelling until 1800 and it died off until early last century, Japan and China are now the biggest commercial producers of Cloisonne enamel products.

Six historically recognized forms of multicoloured enamelling have developed over the centuries and all other styles are a combination of one or more of these styles in a modern interpretation. They are Champleve', Cloisonne, Limoges, Plique-a'-jour, Bass-taille and Grisaille.

Champleve' comes from the French word for "raised plane", in this technique, the enamel colours are applied to depressed areas in the base metal, or by sawing out areas of a second sheet and fusing it to the base sheet, this process was first worked by the Celts in the British Isles in the 3rd century AD.

Cloisonne is a multicolour enamelling process in which each enamel colour is separated by thin metal wires that form tiny cups or cells, (the word cloisonne comes from the French Cloison meaning cell). The wires not only contain different colours, they act as a decorative element in the design. Examples of Cloisonne date from the 6th century AD in the Byzantine Empire and Japan.

Limoges enamelling, also known as painting enamelling, was developed by the Penicaud family of Limoge France in about 1500 AD. Moistened ground enamels are applied freely onto the metal base with fine brushes and inlay tools.

Plique-a'-jour or backless enamel is another technique. Small openings are made in the metal sheet or wire is formed into a pattern and transparent enamel is placed in the openings. The result is a miniature stained glass window, as the light will pass through transparent enamel. This technique is not for the faint hearted artisan.

Basse-taille (literally, low cutting) uses a sheet of engraved, etched or impressed metal covered with a thin layer of transparent enamel so the design of the metal can show through.

Grisaille(grey) enamelling is where fine white opaque enamel is sifted onto a pre-fired black or dark enamel base, a design is then scratched through and fired, areas are built up in layers to produce a complete shaded picture.

Enamelling is an exacting if not frustrating art, it can take 20 or 30 firings to get the exact effect you are looking for to have it fail in the last firing, enamellists are a special breed of artists who appreciate the joy and frustration of the truly unique art form.

We encourage discussions with individual Artists and will arrange an introduction so that you may pursue a specific request.