DOI issue:
No. 41 (August, 1896)
DOI article:Miller, Fred: An enameller and his work
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17297#0169
An Enameller and his Work
while the design is opaque. This is the case in
many of the old Limoges pieces where the figures
are in white on a deep blue ground. An enamel
may be, and usually is, fired several times, as one
colour has to be painted over another, and to get
finish and definition colours very similar to those
used on china are employed, and in much the
same way, and the effect of a miniature, so far as
finish is concerned, is obtainable. Very great care
has to be exercised in the firing, for some colours
fuse at a lower temperature than others (these have
to be put in last) and excess of heat changes the
colour of others, so that it is necessary to draw the
work from the muffle at the exact moment. The
beauty of enamels depends upon their translucent,
gem-like quality, and the design must be subordi-
nate to the charm of colour, though, as may be
seen from the illustrations given of some of Mr.
Fisher's work, great beauty of design and high
manipulative skill may accompany colour as beauti-
ful as an opal.
Enamels were added to gold and silversmiths'
work from the fourth to the seventh century. It
became of the greatest importance in Byzantine
goldsmiths' work when Christianity became the
religion of the State, and has been used by them
continually down to our own time. An enameller
BUCKLE IN TRANSLUCENT ENAMEL ON SILVER
BY A. FISHER
is invariably a worker in metal, and Mr. Fisher is
as much a modeller and chaser as enameller.
We will now glance at the various processes em-
ployed by enamellers.
Champleve.—This is the simplest and probably
the oldest form. It consists in cutting out spaces
on a thickish plate of metal, and filling these in
with powdered enamel. It is then fired and after-
wards filed down even with the metal and then
polished. The few specimens of Saxon work, such
as King Alfred's jewel, are enriched in this way.
\Niello is the name given to a black composition
made of silver, lead, sulphur, and copper, which is
BUCKLE IN TRANSLUCENT ENAMEL ON SILVER
BY A. FISHER
laid, in the form of powder, in lines or cavities
prepared for it on a surface of silver. It is then
passed through the furnace, when it is melted and
becomes incorporated with the metal. It is men-
tioned as early as the beginning of the ninth
century.]
Cloisonne is a similar process, except that the
spaces are made by wire of gold, silver, or hard
brass soldered on to the metal, usually copper.
These " enclosures" are filled with enamels
applied in the form of a paste. The work is then
fired and the surface given to it by rubbing the
enamels over with stones until the whole surface is
smooth. The best specimens are hand polished
and should have a soft, precious surface like some
beautiful fruit. Japanese enamels, almost en-
tirely consist of this kind, and they are, without
doubt, the greatest masters of this branch of the
art, and the skill with which a Japanese solders
down the filagree bands to form the enclosures
(and the design) must be seen to be appreciated.
Japanese Cloisonne is generally opaque.
Bassitaitte.—The space to be enamelled is beaten
or cut below the surface of the metal and then
carved or beaten in low relief, so that when the
transparent enamel is placed over this the model-
l53
while the design is opaque. This is the case in
many of the old Limoges pieces where the figures
are in white on a deep blue ground. An enamel
may be, and usually is, fired several times, as one
colour has to be painted over another, and to get
finish and definition colours very similar to those
used on china are employed, and in much the
same way, and the effect of a miniature, so far as
finish is concerned, is obtainable. Very great care
has to be exercised in the firing, for some colours
fuse at a lower temperature than others (these have
to be put in last) and excess of heat changes the
colour of others, so that it is necessary to draw the
work from the muffle at the exact moment. The
beauty of enamels depends upon their translucent,
gem-like quality, and the design must be subordi-
nate to the charm of colour, though, as may be
seen from the illustrations given of some of Mr.
Fisher's work, great beauty of design and high
manipulative skill may accompany colour as beauti-
ful as an opal.
Enamels were added to gold and silversmiths'
work from the fourth to the seventh century. It
became of the greatest importance in Byzantine
goldsmiths' work when Christianity became the
religion of the State, and has been used by them
continually down to our own time. An enameller
BUCKLE IN TRANSLUCENT ENAMEL ON SILVER
BY A. FISHER
is invariably a worker in metal, and Mr. Fisher is
as much a modeller and chaser as enameller.
We will now glance at the various processes em-
ployed by enamellers.
Champleve.—This is the simplest and probably
the oldest form. It consists in cutting out spaces
on a thickish plate of metal, and filling these in
with powdered enamel. It is then fired and after-
wards filed down even with the metal and then
polished. The few specimens of Saxon work, such
as King Alfred's jewel, are enriched in this way.
\Niello is the name given to a black composition
made of silver, lead, sulphur, and copper, which is
BUCKLE IN TRANSLUCENT ENAMEL ON SILVER
BY A. FISHER
laid, in the form of powder, in lines or cavities
prepared for it on a surface of silver. It is then
passed through the furnace, when it is melted and
becomes incorporated with the metal. It is men-
tioned as early as the beginning of the ninth
century.]
Cloisonne is a similar process, except that the
spaces are made by wire of gold, silver, or hard
brass soldered on to the metal, usually copper.
These " enclosures" are filled with enamels
applied in the form of a paste. The work is then
fired and the surface given to it by rubbing the
enamels over with stones until the whole surface is
smooth. The best specimens are hand polished
and should have a soft, precious surface like some
beautiful fruit. Japanese enamels, almost en-
tirely consist of this kind, and they are, without
doubt, the greatest masters of this branch of the
art, and the skill with which a Japanese solders
down the filagree bands to form the enclosures
(and the design) must be seen to be appreciated.
Japanese Cloisonne is generally opaque.
Bassitaitte.—The space to be enamelled is beaten
or cut below the surface of the metal and then
carved or beaten in low relief, so that when the
transparent enamel is placed over this the model-
l53