Vitreous enamel: Difference between revisions

[[File:0 Reliquaire grandmontain - MR 2648 - Louvre (1).JPG|thumb|[[Gothic art|Gothic]] [[chasse (casket)|châsse]]; 1185-12001185–1200; champlevé enamel over copper gilded; height: {{cvt|17.7 |cm|in}}, width: {{cvt|17.4 |cm|in}}, depth: {{cvt|10.1 |cm; [[Louvre-Lens]] ([[Lens]], France)|in}}]]

The earliest enamel all used the cloisonné technique, placing the enamel within small cells with gold walls. This had been used as a technique to hold pieces of stone and gems tightly in place since the 3rd milleniummillennium BC, for example in [[Mesopotamia]], and then Egypt. Enamel seems likely to have developed as a cheaper method of achieving similar results.<ref name="Osborne, 331">Osborne, 331</ref>

The earliest undisputed objects known to use enamel are a group of [[Mycenae]]an rings from [[Cyprus]], dated to the 13th century BC.<ref> name="Osborne, 331<"/ref> Although Egyptian pieces, including jewellery from the [[Tomb of Tutankhamun]] of c. 1325 BC, are frequently described as using "enamel", many scholars doubt the glass paste was sufficiently melted to be properly so described, and use terms such as "glass-paste". It seems possible that in Egyptian conditions the melting point of the glass and gold were too close to make enamel a viable technique. Nonetheless, there appear to be a few actual examples of enamel, perhaps from the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt]] (beginning 1070 BC) on.<ref>Ogden, 166</ref> But it remained rare in both Egypt and Greece.

The technique appears in the [[KubanKoban culture|Koban]] duringculture of the northern and central [[ScythianCaucasus]] period, and was perhaps carried by the [[Sarmatians]] to the ancient Celts.<ref> name="Osborne, 331<"/ref> Red enamel is used in 26 places on the [[Battersea Shield]] (c.350–50 BC), probably as an imitation of the red Mediterranean [[coral]], which is used on the [[Witham Shield]] (400-300400–300 BC). [[Pliny the Elder]] mentions the Celts' use of the technique on metal, which the Romans in his day hardly knew. The [[Staffordshire Moorlands Pan]] is a 2nd -century AD souvenir of [[Hadrian's Wall]], made for the Roman military market, which has swirling enamel decoration in a Celtic style. In Britain, probably through preserved Celtic craft skills, enamel survived until the [[hanging bowl]]s of early [[Anglo-Saxon art]].

A problem that adds to the uncertainty over early enamel is artefacts (typically excavated) that appear to have been prepared for enamel, but have now lost whatever filled the cloisons or backing to a [[champlevé]] piece.<ref> name="Osborne, 331<"/ref> This occurs in several different regions, from ancient Egypt to Anglo-Saxon England. Once enamel becomes more common, as in medieval Europe after about 1000, the assumption that enamel was originally used becomes safer.

[[File:Waddesdon bequest British Museum DSCF9814 05.JPG|thumb|Detail of [[Limoges enamel#Renaissance painted enamel|painted Limoges enamel]] dish, mid-16th century, attributed to [[Jean de Court]], [[Waddesdon Bequest]]]]

In European art history, enamel was at its most important in the [[Middle Ages]], beginning with the Late Romans and then the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], who began to use [[cloisonné]] enamel in imitation of cloisonné inlays of precious stones. The [[Byzantine enamel]] style was widely adopted by the "barbarian" peoples of [[Migration Period]] northern Europe. The Byzantines then began to use cloisonné more freely to create images; this was also copied in Western Europe. In [[Kievan Rus]] a [[finift enamel]] technique was developed.<ref>{{Citation |title=ХУДОЖНЯ ЕМАЛЬ У ХРОНОТОПІ УКРАЇНСЬКОГО МИСТЕЦТВА. Альманах |last=Наумов |first=Олег |date=2019-01-01 |work=Культура і Сучасність |volume=2019 |issue=2 |pages=192–197}}</ref><ref name =Mostovshchikova2020>{{Citation |title=Traditions of painted hot enamel of Europe and the East of the XVIIIth century in contemporary enamel art of Ukraine |last=Мостовщикова |first=Дар'я Олегівна |url=https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/32111/ |journal=Актуальнi питання гуманiтарних наук: Мiжвузiвський збiрник наукових праць молодих вчених Дрогобицького державного педагогiчного унiверситету iменi Iвана Франка |volume=1 |year=2020|issue=30 |pages=173–180|doi=10.24919/2308-4863.1/30.212240 }}</ref>

From either Byzantium or the Islamic world, the cloisonné technique reached China in the 13–14th centuries. The first written reference to cloisonné is in a book from 1388, where it is called "Dashi ('Muslim') ware".<ref name=Sullivan>Sullivan, Michael, ''The arts of China'', 4th edn, p.&nbsp;239, University of California Press, 1999, {{ISBN|0-520-21877-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-520-21877-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sn0CyBCJKz8C&pg=PA239 Google books]</ref> No Chinese pieces that are clearly from the 14th century are known; the earliest datable pieces are from the reign of the [[Xuande Emperor]] (1425–351425–1435), which, since they show a full use of Chinese styles, suggest considerable experience in the technique.

Cloisonné remained very popular in China until the 19th century and is still produced today. The most elaborate and most highly valued Chinese pieces are from the early [[Ming Dynastydynasty]], especially the reigns of the Xuande Emperor and [[Jingtai Emperor]] (1450–571450–1457), although 19th century or modern pieces are far more common.<ref name=Sullivan />

Japanese artists did not make three-dimensional enamelled objects until the 1830s but, once the technique took hold based on analysis of Chinese objects, it developed very rapidly, reaching a peak in the [[Meiji (era)|Meiji]] and [[Taishō]] eras (late 19th/ early 20th century).<ref name="enamelinjapan">{{cite book |last1=Impey |first1=Oliver |last2=Fairley |first2=Malcolm |editor1-last=Williams |editor1-first=Haydn |title=Enamels of the world, 1700-2000: the Khalili collections |date=2009 |publisher=Khalili Family Trust |location=London |isbn=978-1-874780-17-5 |pages=149-156149–156 |chapter=Enamel in Japan}}</ref> Enamel had been used as decoration for metalwork since about 1600,<ref name="earle">{{Cite book|last=Earle|first=Joe|title=Splendors of Meiji : treasures of imperial Japan : masterpieces from the Khalili Collection|publisher=Broughton International Inc|year=1999|isbn=1874780137|location=St. Petersburg, Fla.|pages=252–254|oclc=42476594}}</ref><ref name="enamelinjapan" /> and Japanese cloisonné was already exported to Europe before the start of the Meiji era in 1868.<ref name="enamelinjapan" /> CloissonéCloisonné is known in Japan as {{lang|ja-latn|shippo}}, literally "seven treasures".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harada|first=Jiro|date=1911|title=Japanese Art & Artists of To-day VI. Cloisonné Enamels|url=https://archive.org/details/studiointernatio53lond/page/270/mode/2up|journal=The Studio|volume=53|page=271|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> This refers to richly coloured substances mentioned in Buddhist texts.<ref name="polished">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=5 November 2017|title=Polished to Perfection|url=https://asianartnewspaper.com/polished-to-perfection/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 July 2020|website=Asian Art Newspaper|issn=147513721475-1372}}</ref> The term was initially used for colourful objects imported from China. According to legend, in the 1830s [[Kaji Tsunekichi]] broke open a Chinese enamel object to examine it, then trained many artists, starting off Japan's own enamel industry.<ref name="polished" /><ref name="earle" />

[[Gottfried Wagener]] was a German scientist brought in by the government to advise Japanese industry and improve production processes. Along with [[Namikawa Yasuyuki]] he developed a transparent black enamel which was used for backgrounds. Translucent enamels in various other colours followed during this period.<ref name="enamelinjapan" /> Along with [[Tsukamoto Kaisuke]], Wagener transformed the firing processes used by Japanese workshops, improving the quality of finishes and extending the variety of colours.<ref name="enamelinjapan" /> [[Kawade Shibatarō]] introduced a variety of techniques, including {{lang|ja-latn|nagare-gusuri}} (drip-glaze) which produces a rainbow-coloured glaze and {{lang|ja-latn|uchidashi}} ([[Repoussé and chasing|repoussé]]) technique, in which the metal foundation is hammered outwards to create a [[relief]] effect.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Kawade Shibatarō {{!}} Imperial Presentation Vase with Maple Branches and Imperial Chrysanthemum Crest (one of a pair)|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60501|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 July 2020|website=www.metmuseum.org|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> Together with [[Hattori Tadasaburō]] he developed the {{lang|ja-latn|moriage}} ("piling up") technique which places layers of enamel upon each other to create a three-dimensional effect.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Irvine|first=Gregory|url=|title=Japonisme and the rise of the modern art movement : the arts of the Meiji period : the Khalili collection|publisher=Thames & Hudson|others=|year=2013|isbn=978-0-500-23913-1|location=New York|pages=181|oclc=853452453}}</ref> [[Namikawa Sōsuke]] developed a pictorial style that imitated paintings. He is known for {{lang|ja-latn|shosen}} (minimised wires) and {{lang|ja-latn|musen}} (wireless cloisonné): techniques developed with Wagener in which the wire {{lang|fr|cloisons}} are minimised or burned away completely with acid.<ref name="dma">{{Cite web|last=Leonard|first=Loryn|date=2012-06-26|title=How It’sIt's Made: Japanese Cloisonné|url=https://blog.dma.org/2012/06/26/how-its-made-japanese-cloisonne/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="earle" /> This contrasts with the Chinese style which used thick metal {{lang|fr|cloisons}}.<ref name="enamelinjapan" /> [[Ando Jubei]] introduced the {{lang|ja-latn|shōtai-jippō}} ({{lang|fr|[[plique-à-jour]]}}) technique which burns away the metal substrate to leave translucent enamel, producing an effect resembling [[stained glass]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art|url=http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10227/10247/all/per_page/25/offset/25/sort_by/date/object/12153|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 July 2020|website=jameelcentre.ashmolean.org|publisher=Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford|language=en}}</ref> The [[Ando Cloisonné Company]] which he co-founded is one of the few makers from this era still active.<ref name="enamelinjapan" /> Distinctively Japanese designs, in which flowers, birds and insects were used as themes, became popular. Designs also increasingly used areas of blank space.<ref name="earle" /> With the greater subtlety these techniques allowed, Japanese enamels were regarded as unequalled in the world<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=1893|title=Japanese Art Enamels|journal=The Decorator and Furnisher|volume=21|issue=5|page=170|jstor=25582341|issn=2150-6256|quote=We doubt if any form of the enameller's art can equal the work executed in Japan, which is distinguished by great freedom of design, and the most exquisite gradations of color.}}</ref> and won many awards at national and international exhibitions.<ref name="dma" /><ref>Toyoro Hida, Gregory Irvine, Kana Ooki, Tomoko Hana and Yukari Muro. ''Namikawa Yasuyuki and Japanese Cloisonné The Allure of Meiji Cloisonné: The Aesthetic of Translucent Black'', pp.182-188, [[Mainichi Shimbun|The Mainichi Newspapers Co, Ltd]], 2017</ref>

===LaterIndia and Islamic world===

More recently, the bright, jewel-like colorscolours have made enamel apopular favoured choice forwith jewellery designers, including the [[Art Nouveau]] jewellers, for designers of [[wikt:bibelot|bibelots]] such as the eggs of [[Peter Carl Fabergé]] and the enameled copper boxes of the Battersea enamellers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vea.org.uk/what-is-enamel/|title=What is Vitreous Enamel?|website=vea.org.uk}}</ref> and for artists such as [[George Stubbs]] and other painters of [[portrait miniature]]s.

Vitreous enamel has many useful properties: it is smooth, hard, chemically resistant, durable, scratch resistant (5–6 on the [[Mohs scale of mineral hardness|Mohs scale]]), has long-lasting colour fastness, is easy to clean, and cannot burn. Enamel is glass, not paint, so it does not fade under [[ultraviolet light]].<ref>Fedak, David and Baldwin, Charles, "A Comparison of Enameled and Stainless Steel Surfaces," Proceedings of the 67th Porcelain Enamel Institute Technical Forum, 45-54 (2005).</ref> A disadvantage of enamel is a tendency to crack or shatter when the substrate is stressed or bent, but modern enamels are relatively chip- and impact-resistant because of good thickness control and coefficients of [[thermal expansion]] well-matched to the metal.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The Buick automobile company was founded by [[David Dunbar Buick]] with wealth earned by his development of improved enamelling processes, c. 1887, for sheet steel and cast iron. Such enameled ferrous material had, and still has, many applications: early 20th century and some modern [[advertising]] signs, interior [[oven]] walls, [[cooking pot]]s, housing and interior walls of major [[kitchen appliance]]s, housing and drums of clothes washers and dryers, sinks and [[cast iron]] [[bathtub]]s, [[farm]] [[storage silo]]s, and processing equipment such as [[chemical reactor]]s and pharmaceutical process tanks. Structures such as [[filling station]]s, [[bus station]]s and [[Lustron House]]s had walls, ceilings and structural elements made of enamelled steel.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

[[File:PlacaDormicion MAN.JPG|thumb|Medallion of the [[Death of the Virgin]], with basse-taille enamel, partly fallen away]]

* The three main historical techniques for enamelling metal are:

** [[Cloisonné]], French for "cell", where thin wires are applied to form raised barriers, which contain different areas of (subsequently applied) enamel. Widely practiced in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia.<ref>Campbell, 6, 10-17</ref>

** [[Champlevé]], French for "raised field", where the surface is carved out to form pits in which enamel is fired, leaving the original metal exposed; the Romanesque [[Stavelot Triptych]] is an example.<ref>Campbell, 7, 17-32</ref>

** Painted enamel, a design in enamel is painted onto a smooth metal surface. [[Limoges enamel]] is the best known type of painted enamel, using this from the 16th century onwards.<ref>Campbell, 7</ref> Most traditional painting on glass, and some on ceramics, uses what is technically enamel, but is often described by terms such as "painted in enamels", reserving "painted enamel" and "enamel" as a term for the whole object for works with a metal base.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?scopeType=Terms&scopeId=17395 British Museum] collection database, "Scope note" for the term "enamelled"; other sources use different categories.</ref>

** [[Basse-taille]], from the French word meaning "low-cut". The surface of the metal is decorated with a low relief design which can be seen through translucent and transparent enamels. The 14th century [[Royal Gold Cup]] is an outstanding example.<ref>Campbell, 7, 33-41</ref>

** [[Plique-à-jour]], French for "open to daylight" where the enamel is applied in cells, similar to cloisonné, but with no backing, so light can shine through the transparent or translucent enamel. It has a stained-glass like appearance; the [[Mérode Cup]] is the surviving medieval example.<ref>Campbell, 38-42</ref>

*** [[Grisaille]], version of painted enamel, French term meaning "in grey", where a dark, often blue or black background is applied, then a palescent (translucent) enamel is painted on top, building up designs in a monochrome gradient, paler as the thickness of the layer of light colour increases.<ref name="Lucie-Smith, 83">Lucie-Smith, 83</ref>

* [[En résille]] ({{Lang|fr|Émail en résille sur verre}}, French for 'enamel in a network on glass,') where enamelled metal is suspended in glass. The technique was briefly popular in seventeenth-century France and was re-discovered by [[Margret Craver]] in 1953. Craver spent 13 years re-creating the technique.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=330|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713051944/http://www.americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=330|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 July 2009|title=Craft: Jewelry: Brooch|work=Luce Foundation Center for American Art|publisher=Smithsonian American Art Museum|accessdateaccess-date=29 March 2013}}</ref>

* '''Counter -enamelling''', not strictly a technique, but a necessary step in many techniques, isespecially to applypainted enamel on thin plaques; introduced in 15th-century Europe. Enamel is applied to the back of a piece as well – sandwiching the metal – to equalize the rates of expansion under heat, and so create less tension on the glass so it does not crack.<ref name="Lucie-Smith, 83"/>

* See also [[Ando Cloisonné Company#Types|Japanese shipōyaki techniques]].

The frit in the ground coat contains smelted-in cobalt and/or nickel oxide as well as other transition metal oxides to catalyse the enamel-steel bonding reactions. During firing of the enamel at between {{convert|760|toand|895|C|F}}, iron oxide scale first forms on the steel. The molten enamel dissolves the iron oxide and precipitates cobalt and [[nickel]]. The iron acts as the anode in an electrogalvanic reaction in which the iron is again oxidised, dissolved by the glass, and oxidised again with the available cobalt and nickel limiting the reaction. Finally, the surface becomes roughened with the glass anchored into the holes.<ref>Feldman, Sid and Baldwin, Charles, "Surface Tension and Fusion Properties of Porcelain Enamels," Proceedings of the 69th Porcelain Enamel Institute Technical Forum, 1-10 (2008)</ref>

Enamel coatings applied to steel panels offer protection to the core material whether cladding road tunnels, underground stations, building superstructures or other applications. It can also be specified as a curtain walling. Qualities of this structural material include:<ref>{{cite book|title=Vitreous and porcelain enamels — Characteristics of enamel coatings applied to steel panels intended for architecture|year=2008|publisher=Standards Policy and Strategy Committee|isbn=978 -0 -580 -72284 -4}}</ref>

File:Silver, silver gilt and painted enamel beaker, Burgundian Netherlands, c. 1425-1450, The Cloisters.JPG|Silver, silver gilt and painted enamel beaker, [[Burgundian Netherlands]], c. 1425–1450, [[The Cloisters]], nyc

* [[Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Rostov]] in Russia, with MoskowMoscow a centre of the Russian industry

*Ogden, Jack, "Metal", in ''Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology'', eds. Paul T. Nicholson, Ian Shaw, 2000, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0521452570}}, 9780521452571, [https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=Vj7A9jJrZP0C&pg=PA166 google books]

* {{Cite book | ref = harv | last = Maryon | first = Herbert | author-link = Herbert Maryon | title = Metalwork and Enamelling | edition = 5th | date = 1971 | publisher = Dover | location = New York | chapter = Enamelling | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bpCgM8e7afMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA169 | isbn = 0-486-22702-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/metalworkenamell00mary }}