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Cloisonne, also known as filigree enamel work, is perhaps
the most famous of all traditional Chinese metal craftworks, with Beijing as
the producing center. The making of cloisonné involves a complex enameling
technique – from soldering to a copper surface delicate metal strips bent to
the outline of a design, to filling the resulting cellular spaces with
vitreous enamel paste, before the object is fired, ground smooth and finely
polished. Cloisonne is called “jingtai-lan” because its popularity reached a
peak during the Jingtai reign (1450-1457) of the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese
cloisonné comes in such forms as vases, bowl, plates, table lamps, and cups
used as prizes. |
