Cloisonné Enamel
景泰蓝
Ming Dynasty, Jingtai period (1450–1457 CE)
Cloisonné (jingtailan) is a decorative metalwork technique where thin metal wires are soldered onto a metal object to form cells (cloisons), which are then filled with colored enamel paste and fired. Originating in the Ming Dynasty's Jingtai period (1450–1457), the craft is known for its brilliant blue hues, intricate patterns, and labor-intensive process involving dozens of steps.
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Skills & Techniques
Cloisonné Enameling
The process of decorating metal objects with colored glass paste held in place by thin metal wires.
- Shape the metal base (copper or bronze) by hammering
- Solder thin copper wires onto the surface to form pattern cells
- Fill each cell with colored enamel paste
- Fire in a kiln to fuse the enamel
- Polish the surface to reveal the wire pattern and enamel gloss
- Gild the exposed wire partitions with gold
soldering iron, fine tweezers, kiln, polishing stone, engraving burin
copper sheet, copper wire, enamel powder (various colors), gold leaf, borax flux
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Cloisonné Enamel is a specialized node (score: 0.5/10).
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Timeline
Ming Dynasty, Jingtai period (1450–1457 CE)
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