Enamel (glass)

The Royal Gold Cup, 23.6 cm high, 17.8 cm across at its widest point; weight 1.935 kg, British Museum. Decorated with enamel and pearls. It was made for the French royal family at the end of the 14th century.

Box with angels, intended to contain small bottles of holy oils. Champlevé enamel over gilt copper, early 13th century, Limoges

For other uses of the word, see Enamel

Enamel is made of melted glass, often on metal. Sometimes called vitreous or porcelain enamel, it is made by fusing powdered glass to a base by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C (1,380 and 1,560 °F). The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable coating on metal, or on glass or ceramics.

It has been used on decorative objects for two, or three thousand years, but especially in the Middle Ages in Europe. In the 19th century, it was used on everyday objects such as kitchen equipment and road signs. The glass is hard-wearing, scratch resistant and easy to clean.

Gallery

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  Silver, silver gilt and painted enamel beaker, Burgundian Netherlands, c. 1425–1450, The Cloisters, nyc

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  Limoges? grisaille painted Stations of the Cross, Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Avranches

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  St. Gregory the Great in painted Limoges enamel on a copper plaque, by Jacques I Laudin

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  Louis George enamel watch dial

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  Iranian enamel

Old German enamel street sign

Enamel (glass) Media

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  Gothic châsse; 1185–1200; champlevé enamel over copper gilded; height: 17.7 cm (7.0 in), width: 17.4 cm (6.9 in), depth: 10.1 cm (4.0 in)

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  Chinese dish with scalloped rim, from the Ming dynasty; early 15th century; cloisonné enamel; height: 2.5 cm, diameter: 15.2 cm

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  Staffordshire Moorlands Pan, 2nd-century Roman Britain

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  Detail of painted Limoges enamel dish, mid-16th century, attributed to Jean de Court

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  Examples of art made of finift enamel from Kievan Rus

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  Chinese cloisonné enamel bronze wine pot, 18th century

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  Imperial vases by Ando Jubei, with the chrysanthemum crests of the Imperial family, using moriage to slightly raise the design; Khalili Collection of Japanese Art

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  An example of Mīnākārī from Iran.

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  Grey clouds, typical enamel cooking gear from the Dutch DRU factory, popular in the 1950s

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  Glass vials with ground vitreous enamel powder in different colors