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How are painted enamels applied without metal strips separating the colours?
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Enamelwork
Standing dish depicting Samson crushing the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, enamel on copper by Pierre Courteys, c. 1580; in the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio. Height 9.8 cm, diameter 22.9 cm.
In the technique of painted enamels, coloured enamels are applied directly to a metal surface without the use of metal strips or ridges to separate them.1
To prevent the colours from running into one another and blurring the design, craftsmen allow each adjacent patch of wet, powdered enamel to dry thoroughly before applying the next colour. The process generally involves the following steps:1
- Preparation: A metal plate, typically copper, is cleaned with acid and water.1
- Base Coat: A layer of enamel is applied to both the front and back of the plate and fired to create a stable foundation.1
- Delineation: The design is often outlined by drawing with a needle through a layer of wet, opaque enamel.1
- Application: Coloured enamels are then carefully applied in patches. By ensuring each section is dry before the next is added, the artist maintains distinct boundaries between the colours.1
This method differs significantly from techniques like cloisonné, which relies on physical metal partitions to contain the enamel.23