Some history.
With enamels first thing one thinks of is jewellery and objects embellished
with enamel.
The first enamellers likely were jewellers, looking for an alternative for
precious stones.
The oldest well-known enamelled objects were found in Mycene
in the 14th century B.C. and on Cyprus in the 12th century B.C.
In Farao tombs in Egypt also a form of emaille has been found, namely pieces
of coloured glass not being fused on the metal, but which were, like precious
stones, set in an edge.
During the first and second century A.D. it were the Romans who made bronze
objects embellished with emaille.
Museum The Valkhof in Nijmegen, in Holland, possesses such a collection which
has been unearthed in this old city.
From the 11th century on the Roman Catholic Church became the principal
commissioner and a "enamelling industry" developed. Metallic ecclesiastical
communion plates were embellished with precious stones and emaille. This
way enamelling remained a popular artistic form till the end of the 19th
century.
From then on there is a new upswing.
Where emaille was increasingly used for the making of pots and pans and
billboards a.o. there also developed trends in the the Art world which
find a perfect expression in emaille, think of Jugendstil
and Art Nouveau.
In architecture emaille also finds an application. Steel is embellished and preserved
with the use of this material.
What exactly is the material "emaille" and where and how do
you apply it?
Emaille is a glass like material, composed of minerals; this in contrast
to paints and varnishes which are organic.
The raw materials are feldspar, quartz, borax, soda and oxides for colour.
At C 1300 degrees these minerals will melt to a molten mass of glass and
are then ground to powder, resulting in emaille.
It is a durable material, the colours of which will not be influenced either
by light or air.
