New-York tribune., 1877-06-30
TIE CHOICEST ENAMELS.
cHAMPLEvE, CLOIsoYNE, AND sURFACE ENAhEiS
DESCRIBED BY AN EXPERT.

cnAMPLEvE, oLoIsoNNE. AND sURFAcE ENAMEIs
DESCRIBED BY AN EXPERT.
TO the Edftor or The Tribune
SIR: The etymolOgy of the name bric-d-brdc
s rather vague 1t evidently comes from Tie ola freheh
expression ode brtc et de brOqUe" which means from
right and from leffrom hither aud thitDer Inc worn
bric signifies oil French an instrument used 10 shool
arrows at birds with and some ct molossts derive 'ne
word brac from the 0T0eaat-to sell or eNcAange-
the root Of which is Saxon and also the origin of the
word "broker." Its sguihcaton IN pure English is
secondhand goods but has OF recent years pech useu
10 indicate objects of artistic value ade III odeh
times ana which much esteemed by modern coect-
ors. This century i one Of collections, ranging III 'aiue
from defaced postage stamps and wax impressions of
seals TO watches and snuff-bOXes OF rare metals Orna
mcuted with precious stones. One OF the words most
frequently used brc-ab brac trade is the word enamel
Euame Is simply glass fused on the surface OF metals
or OF eartneawaie Tlis art originated III odcn tnes
in tie efforts made by art-wOrkers to reproduce the e
fects so much admired mosaics. in which precious
stones were often used Color la, always been The Key
stone o all styles decoration, and what better mode OF
dinusne it on a surface could be found tlan cooied
CLASS II was brilliant. could defy both atmospheric
influences and time III one word, co0red glass became
the great vehicle Of color in art decoration OF all periods
The earliest method thought or 20 make II adhere to the
surface of metals. the design Of the ornament
having been scratched with craving tool TO cut away
the places to colored sinking them slightly below the
surface OF the metal plie. and then TO I'LL them with
powdered glass which, wnen exposed to sufficient heat,
would melt, and on cooling become sohd piece oi col
ored glass or enamel filing exactly the space cut out for
IT, This method of decoration is styled "ehdmpere or
surface lifted out"
Later modification OF this method is no
iiccable In many cases tue metal cut away to
make room for the enamels formed the largest
part OF tie metal surface sometimes only thu
walls Of metal lett 10 prevent the different
coloTs Of glass from mixing together when in liquid
state III the From this the style cioSo'ae,
or partitloucd where wire, mounted on edge Oh the
plate follows the racrry Of th- design and separates
the enanes forming t-e decoration. The Chinese and
J,uaucsc always exccd this style OF work. The df-
feens cells formed by the IetwOra Oi wire on the sur
face OF thin O metal OF which the vases, plates
or poucs were made were loaded with the different BE
ors enamel or powdered glass They were thcn hred
or posed "a sufficient 10 fuse the glass without
melting the metal, bui naturally when withdraw from
tle furnace, the powder, becoming solid body, had
sbruk aid his made necessary asrcOud third oitena
fifth or sixth flung up ar ei each are" Nhen the pieces
came tDe sutiacr Was uneven, burnt or bi7-
tered; the metal closoHS" scorcned and black.
b, grinding these down, with stone flies, even SIR
obtained but the glass lost Ms iustcr and be-
came opaquciust ground differs from polished
glass. In most cases ts sotencd the eJ.ors ard pro-
dued nearer resemblance 10 stone tor let Il be reinen
bced, decorative oHanels were hrst intended 10 nltJte
or rel lace costly m0>alcs. As an illustration Of this one
may mention that tie Japanese word corresponding 10
enamel Is suippo," ud precious stones
Iuc ola art-wUfker Of Da Nippon claim tat they pro
due, tner cnaIne- from grinding down precious stones
and fnsuL them the surface ol the metals. Modern
science demonstrated tue mpOssiDlty OF this opera
uou, though IN cases at first sight tie similarity OF
The channels Oud il old specimens OF Japanese cO'S2le
may deceive persons Of sound judgment For III
stance, in pieces The turquoise blue las urned green IN
ttt..f al ID
owing to the presence Of alVmne IN the enamel acting
lust as II does in the For long time col
ecor thought that the threads OF metal were secured 10
the surface to be enameled by solder, but when the
/ Jipaucse produced ciosOun6 porcelain this very
much respected belief was shaken. Any metal worker
would laugh 1T the idea OF soldering threads of metal
/ on thin copper. The feat would be most extra
ordinary the first fire he cioiSos wculd lie down.
The ueihod employed by the Orenals consists in stick
iug tine with gum. which of course is much
more simple Than soldering them. They FIST cng4aye
cir design ON the metal to DE cuamcled, they
then b,ud their rectangular wire into TIE shapes
spending to IT, and simply stick tnem with gum pre-
pared The III Of the qance, fruit very common
IN her country. They next prepare hard, colorleSs
! enamel which they grind to fine powder without
washn. II. to retain all the adhesive qualities Uf tie
/ glass; which water might impair The next operation
is to mosicn gum which holds the cloisoais the
vase, with spray Of wafer generally blown FROM the
OF llr Orfduf, ana Utolt llt gum !, ulf lHty
pos der over the enamel this naturally sticks To
gum. and 10y exposing the piece, in muic % sharp,
strong ie, gum is burned away, tue mel fused,
snd the wire fretwork stuck To the metal below wit
the melted glass The piece is then ready to ice charged
! with the coorrd euamcis. ~ the sixteenth century
French workuen at Limoges succeeded IN covering thin
copper surfaces with tln dark coating of enamel on
his they painted decorative subjects in wnte for the
caameler palette in Europe in those days not fur
nisicd with tie many cOiOrs known in the East Tae
shading OF these decorations, which often rcpr.sen
human figures, produced by successive lay Of thin
white enamel. which Drng transparent showed the duk
/ ground under them For each fresh layer the white
grew more opaque until il became Intense white Tie
hgn-lighis Each application Of white enamel made
necessary Z. passage through the fire To unite ];
to the previous laycs. ana much risk in fhe
operation; bat tlr depth OF The shading obtained by tins
method is so exquisite that 10 the present dag the
artisans Paris, who excel IN t4is KIND Of work. have
found no substitute for 1t. God is often introduced 10
helm tue decoration, bat this added Ouly
fire. Sometimes hight imts OF color also the whte
10 cnIlycn it, but this s also only done ~ the last Stage
! Of tAe prOecss. IN where strong cOlUr-
are wanted they lay the copper thin sheet Of
gold cnf and cover with Transparent co,orlcss enamel
which D., tinted red blue. green at the end OF The
enamclng process. producing seni-transparent effect
which often suggests pre- sous stones.
Ne,o- FORK, June ~, 1877. FREDERIC yoRs.
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4 man noted for his closciisted propensities
an ifl cofu Ia urfglhnr