Cloisonne Antiques
By Chantel Danis

Even though the word cloisonné has French origins from the word cloison, which means cell, this art form started in Japan and the Byzantine Empire during the sixth century. The Chinese do get recognized for their work in cloisonné art, it appears in the 13th century in China according to the historians. The profound influence the oriental culture had on this art form can be seen even today. Many have enjoyed this art along the years, even cloisonné antiques can be found along with new items in today's market.

The Byzantine enamels used gold wire designs. Most of the designs were based on the Byzantine religion which was Christianity. Crosses, saints, and pictures of Christ adorned the early cloisonné pieces. The cloisonné from Japan on the other hand is more flowers, landscapes, and birds. The Chinese chose ornamental decorations and patterns to use in their enamels.

The artists of cloisonné create the enamels in the following fashion. They first come up with the design. It is easy to map one out on graph paper. Then the artist has to solder a wire ring, called a bezel, onto a section of sheet metal; this is to make the enamel cup or base.

The artist then keeps working on the wire to create the cloisons or cells. Once a design or pattern is created with the wire, it is ready to have the enamels applied in layers. Each layer of enamel has to be fired using a kiln so that it can melt. The last step is the artist grinding and also polishing the piece of art.

The enamels of cloisonné are opalescent, opaque, or transparent. Each kind gives you a range of choices in color. An individual piece could have several kinds of the enamel and various cells made up of different colors. There are similarities of this art to painting, in the end the finished piece does look like a scene that has been painted. Enamel comes in powder or chunk form. The chunk form is more affordable, but the artist must break it down into powder to use it.

Just a few of the metals can be used on the enamels, typically silver, gold, brass that has no zinc in it, bronze, aluminum if it has been specially treated, and copper are used. The materials to do cloisonné are not sold at regular craft stores usually; they have to be purchased through catalogs or online.

Once the piece is finished it can be made into rings, charms, earrings, pendants and so on. It takes a bit of knowledge about working with metal to do enameling, so this is not a good craft if you are a beginner into crafting. A person needs to learn some knowledge ahead of time before trying this craft. Today the better examples of the cloisonné are quite often displayed in galleries or sold in stores.

Learn more about Cloisonne antiques and where to find these beautiful gems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chantel_Danis
http://EzineArticles.com/?Cloisonne-Antiques&id=3525773