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- Introduction
Scholarly interest in cloisonne has been neg-
lected in China, and it has been ranked low in
the hierarchy of Chinese arts largely due to the
fact that it is an art of foreign origin. The low
regard in which cloisonne was held is expressed
in a fourteenth-century Chinese text, where it is
described as being only appropriate for use in a
woman�s apartment and not suitable for the
tastes of a scholar.
However, it is a different story in the West.
Antique Chinese cloisonne is much admired and
sought after, and a great deal of research has
been carried on by Western scholars to enrich
our knowledge of this art form. The most im-
portant scholarly works include: The Problem
of Chinese Cloisonne Enamels in Transactions
of the Oriental Ceramic Society (1949-50) by
R. Soame Jenyns; Chinese and Japanese Cloi-
sonne Enamels (1962) by Sir Harry Garner;
Chinese Cloisonne: The Clague Collection
(1980) by Claudia Brown; and Die Ware aus
dem Teufelsland (1981) by Dr. Gunhild Gab-
bert Avitabile.
In order to understand more fully the impor-
tance of cloisonne in Chinese art history, it is
necessary to briefly discuss what cloisonne is, its
origin in China, and its technical and stylistic
development.
The Technique of Cloisonne
Cloisonne manufacture is very time consuming
and labour intensive, but is a relatively simple
process that requires only a small amount of
raw materials and a low firing in a muffle kiln.
The principle materials necessary to make
cloisonne are enamel, glass, metal wires and a
metal form. Enamel is a compound of borate
and silicates mixed with various chemicals and
metallic oxides, which give it different colours.
For example, cobalt makes a rich blue colour;
manganese oxide yields a purple; uranium
makes an orange colour; iron produces colours
ranging from light green to brown; tin makes
an opaque white colour; and copper yields a
green in oxidation and blue to red in reduction.
The oxides are mixed with a soft glass base to
form bricks, which are then ground into a fine
powder.
The stages in making cloisonne are as follows:
(see figure 1)
1. The required shape of a vessel or object is
first made of copper, bronze or silver, and
sometimes of gold. The surface must then
be thoroughly cleaned.
2. Small metal ribbons or wires, bent and
shaped into intricate patterns by hand and
tweezers forming numerous cells or cloisons,
are then affixed to the metal object edge-
wise by means of soldering or vegetable glue.
3. A coloured enamel powder is made into a
paste with water and applied with a brush
to each individual cell until it is filled to the
proper level. It is then allowed to dry.
4. After drying the vessel is carefully placed in
a muffle kiln until it has reached the re-
quired firing temperature (from 800 to 1,000
degrees centigrade).
5. When the enamel has become molten, the
piece is withdrawn to cool at room tempera-
ture.
6. Since the enamel greatly decreases in vol-
ume, the cloisons must again be filled with
moist enamel paste and refired. This process
is repeated at least four times.
7. After repeated applications and firing, the
surface appears to have been overrun by the
enamel and the patterns are quite blurred.
The surface is then ground down by the use
of various abrasive materials, so that the
surface of the enamel becomes smooth, and
the wires of the cloisons become visible and
even with the enamel. The entire surface
can then be polished to a high gloss.
8. Finally, the exposed metal wires and rims
are gilded by rubbing them with an amal-
gam of gold in mercury. In the late nine-
teenth century, this method was replaced by
electroplating, which was invented by the
Europeans.
The Origins of Cloisonne in China
An approximate date and the place of origin of
the earliest cloisonne enamel wares in the world
have not yet been pinpointed. One of the lead-
ing experts on cloisonne, Sir Harry Garner, feels
that it was first produced in Mycenaean Greece
around the thirteenth century B.C.
Cloisonne remained in a rather primitive
form in West Asia and some parts of Europe
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