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284:("Russian plique-à-jour"): This is a building up process whereby a planned design is interpreted using gold or silver wires which are worked over a metal form (e.g. a bowl). Wires are twisted or engraved, i.e. have additional micro patterns. The wires are soldered together. Enamels are ground and applied to each "cell" created by the metal wirework. The piece is fired in a kiln. This process of placing and firing the enamels is repeated until all cells are completely filled. Usually it takes up to 15–20 repeats.
140:(1500–1571) gives a full description of the process in his Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Gold-smithing and Sculpture of 1568. Pre-19th century pieces are extremely rare because of their "extreme fragility ... which increases greatly with their size", and the difficulty of the technique. Survivals "are almost exclusively small ornamental pieces". The outstanding early examples that survive are "the decorative insets in the early fifteenth-century
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Currently plique-à-jour is not often used, because it is challenging technically and mainly because of breaks in transferring skills from one generation of jewellers to the next. However, some luxury houses do produce limited numbers of products in the plique-à-jour technique, for example
465:
117:" bowls) was used by its aristocracy. Russian masters significantly developed plique-à-jour technique: in addition to cells cut in precious metal they worked with cells made of silver wire. Unfortunately the plique-à-jour technique of Kievan Rus' was lost after the crushing
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As soon as the enamel is melted, the firing is done. Since this is a fairly quick process (around a minute or less at this temperature), the firing is monitored through a peephole to make sure the enamel is not
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are real masterpieces of plique-à-jour. Russian masters predominately worked with tableware. Norwegian jewellers included David
Andersen and J. Tostrup in Oslo, and Martin Hummer in Bergen.
291:("Western plique-à-jour"): A sheet of gold or silver is pierced and sawed, cutting out a desired design. This leaves empty spaces or "cells" to fill with enamel powders (ground glass).
495:
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The enamel powder is applied wet. Capillary action helps filling the shapes and reduces the space between the grains of color. This prevents bubbles from forming as the piece is fired.
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The enamel powder is left to dry completely. If the powder is still humid, the enamel will form bubbles. These will burst and spread liquid enamel on the piece and inside the oven.
304:) and the resulting areas are enameled in the colors of choice. When all the enameling is finished, the copper base is etched away leaving a translucent shell of plique-à-jour.
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and is considered very challenging technically: high time consumption (up to 4 months per item), with a high failure rate. The technique is similar to that of
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The enamel must be applied layer by layer since it collapses during firing. At the same time, care should be taken that the grains do not spread over the edge.
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The piece and the mica sheet are carefully wrapped in the copper foil. It is important that the copper folds do not touch the parts that will be enamelled
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and other French and German artists predominantly used plique-à-jour in small jewellery, though the
Victoria & Albert Museum has a tray of 1901 by
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The technique was revived in the late 19th century movement of revivalist jewellery, and became especially popular in Russia and
Scandinavia. Works by
70:, but with no backing in the final product, so light can shine through the transparent or translucent enamel. It is in effect a miniature version of
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After the oven has been preheated at the desired temperature and the enamel powder has completely dried, the pieces can be placed inside.
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It is dangerous to breathe the dust produced by the use of the drill. The pieces are kept wet to prevent dust from flying into the air.
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is used to stop the enamel powder from flowing out when it is heated up. It can resist high temperature and enamel won't stick to it.
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300:("Japanese plique-à-jour"): A layer of flux (clear enamel) is fired over a copper form. Wires are fired onto the flux (similar to
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The last firing also makes the enamel more translucent. It is the trickiest step since the enamel will fall out if it liquefies.
78:, but using a temporary backing that after firing is dissolved by acid or rubbed away. A different technique relies solely on
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enamelling on a silver base. The silver has been cut into a pattern of stylized waves with floating chrysanthmum blossoms. By
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in London, a Swiss early sixteenth-century plique-à-jour enamel plaque representing the family of the Virgin Mary in the
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The last firing gives shine to the enamel. It is important here that the enamel has no contact with the support.
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Minor flaws can now be fixed. Gum tragacanth is added to the wet powder to keep it in place for the last firing.
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Marit
Guinness Aschan and Rika Smith McNally. "Enamel." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 28 July 2010
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A sheet of copper is also cut out. It needs to be large enough to be folded on the sides of the piece.
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Blocks of mica are made of thin sheets. Select one larger than the piece that will receive the enamel.
311:: Cells in precious metal are covered with fixed mica, which is removed by abrasives after enameling.
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Western Europe adopted the plique-à-jour technique (cells cut in metal) of
Byzantium. The term
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in the 13th century. Some surviving examples are exhibited in the
Historical Museum in Moscow.
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Once the piece has cooled down, new enamel powder can be applied a second time if necessary.
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113:) with other enamel techniques. Despite its complexity plique-à-jour tableware (especially "
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The shape of the object to receive the cloisonné enamel is cut out from the mica sheet.
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in New York, and the eight pinnacle points over the front of the eleventh-century
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and the French term itself appears in inventories from the 14th century onwards.
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The surface of the piece is then levelled and smoothed out with sanding paper.
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in
Hungary". The technique was lost in both Western and Eastern Europe.
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in 6th century AD. Some examples of
Byzantine plique-à-jour survived in
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Excess enamel is removed with an aluminum-oxide-abrasive mounted wheel.
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Recherches sur la peinture en émail dans l'antiquité et au moyen âge
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Labarte, Histoire des arts industriels, iii, Paris, 1865, p. 441
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872:"Comb in the form of two dragonflies, Lucien Gaillard, c. 1904"
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Meanwhile, the oven is preheated (in this case to 825 °C).
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technique where the enamel is applied in cells, similar to
925:
Ostoia, Vera K., "A Late
Mediaeval Plique-à-Jour Enamel",
929:, New Series, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Nov. 1945), pp. 78–80,
86:(shotai shippo), and is found from the 19th century on.
82:, for smaller areas. In Japan the technique is known as
37:
enamel with small rose-cut diamonds in the veins c. 1900
26:, the surviving medieval piece in plique-à-jour, c. 1400
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There are four basic ways of creating plique-à-jour:
640:The pieces are then cleaned from the sanding dust.
731:, Bill Helwig, June 1992, Glass on Metal magazine
105:. The technique of plique-à-jour was adopted by
700:The creatures are ready for their first flight!
580:The copper foil and the mica are then removed.
444:The cleaner the color, the clearer the enamel.
203:technique are also known from China and Iran.
8:
429:The enamel powder first needs to be washed.
315:Process for cloisonné plique-à-jour on mica
245:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
721:Plique à Jour – Yesterdays Technique Today
265:Learn how and when to remove this message
199:in jewellery and tableware. Works in the
414:Enamel powder comes in different colors.
62:(French for "letting in daylight") is a
927:The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
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550:The pieces need to cool down slowly.
243:adding citations to reliable sources
132:appears in 1295 in the inventory of
913:An Introduction to Medieval Enamels
128:("clear enamel"), probably meaning
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109:(a strong trading partner of
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150:Metropolitan Museum of Art
146:Victoria and Albert Museum
846:"National Gallery of Art"
742:The Art of Fine Enameling
144:(Burgundian cup) at the
745:, Karen L. Cohen, p. 10
812:Plaque in Metropolitan
802:, Jules Labarte, 1856.
282:Filigree plique-à-jour
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833:Subscription required
289:Pierced plique-à-jour
154:Saint Stephen's Crown
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951:at Wikimedia Commons
727:11 July 2011 at the
239:improve this section
53:, Meiji era, c. 1900
965:Artistic techniques
64:vitreous enamelling
911:Campbell, Marian.
195:in jewellery, and
134:Pope Boniface VIII
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309:Cloisonné on mica
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876:Rijksmuseum
535:overheated.
173:Art Nouveau
107:Kievan Rus'
959:Categories
906:References
898:, V&A.
881:20 October
822:Ostoia, 78
255:March 2021
207:Techniques
142:Mérode Cup
45:Bowl with
24:Mérode Cup
302:cloisonné
226:does not
197:Bulushoff
76:cloisonné
68:cloisonné
725:Archived
100:Georgian
856:10 July
247:removed
232:sources
193:Tiffany
169:Faberge
90:History
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931:JSTOR
706:Notes
115:kovsh
103:icons
917:ISBN
883:2020
858:2010
337:Mica
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