ArtPage on Enamel

enamel - A vitreous, either transparent or opaque, protective or decorative coating made from silica (a kind of glass) heated in a kiln or furnace, and fused onto metal (usually copper or gold), glass, or ceramic ware. It is often applied as a paste which solidify in firing as areas of color. Also, an object, usually very small, having such a coating, as in a piece of champlevé, cloisonné, bassetaille, or plique-a-jour.

Examples:

Germany, Meuse River region, Personification of "Operatio", c. 1150, enamel on metal, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin. See German art.

Pierre Courteys (French, Limoges, c. 1520 - before 1591), Oval Plaque: Old Woman Narrating the Story of Psyche, c. 1560, polychromed enamel with gold on copper, 12 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches (31.1 x 22.5 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art. See plaque.

Paris, France, Watch: Young Louis XIV on Horseback, c. 1650, enamel, gold, diameter 2 5/16 inches (5.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See horology.

Tiffany and Company (American, 1848-present, New York, NY), Coffeepot, 1893, silver and enamel, height 10 inches (25.4 cm), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA. See ewer.

China, Nine Boxes Illustrating Stages in the Production of Cloisonné Enamel, about 1900-1925, bronze with cloisonné enamel decoration, Storage Box: 9 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 1 5/8 inches (23.5 x 17.15 x 4.13 cm); cloisonné boxes (each): 2 3/8 x 1 5/8 x 1 inches (6.03 x 4.13 x 2.54 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

And, a paint that dries to a hard, glossy finish, the vehicle in which is a resinous varnish. Some such paints are baked while others air-dry. Also, to coat a surface with any of these materials.

Also see encaustic, jewelry, logo, plaque, sand, semi-gloss, and smalto.