illwood's collection features numerous examples of important Russian and British enamels. All enamels are created by heating glass paste tinted with metallic oxides to fuse to a metal surface. The pieces featured here were created using three different techniques of enameling: champlevé, filigree, and painting (en plein). To create a piece in champlevé, or vyemchatai emal', the artist must carve or gouge holes or cells out of the metal, leaving raised bands or fields of metal to separate the colors and form the design. (Champlevé means raised field, as in the fields of metal here.) The holes are then filled with enamel and fired. Filigree enamel (filigranaia emal') is created by twisting wire before it is fastened to the metal support. The wires are then glued or soldered to the metal base to form cells. The strips separate the various colors when the cells are filled with enamel. For a piece of painted, or en plein, enamel, referred to as finift' or zhivopisnaia emal' in Russian, painting is done on a plain surface, usually of opaque enamel that has already been fired. The paints are made quite liquid and applied with a very fine brush. For more information on each
object, click on buttons below.
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