Vitreous enamel
In a discussion of
art or
technology,
enamel (or
vitreous enamel, or
porcelain enamel in American English) is the colorful result of fusion of powdered glass to a substrate through the process of firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius. The powder melts and flows to harden as a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, glass or ceramic. It is often applied in a paste form and may be transparent or opaque when fired. Vitreous enamel can be applied to most metals.
Also, an "enamel" is a decorative object, usually very small, having an enamel coating, such as a piece of champlevé or cloisonné.
Vitreous enamel has many excellent properties: it is smooth, hard, chemically resistant, durable, can take on long-lasting, brilliant colors, and cannot burn. Disadvantages are its tendency to crack or shatter when the substrate is stressed or bent.
Enamelling is an old and widely-adopted technology. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to pottery and stone objects. Other practitioners include the ancient Greeks, Celts, Russians, and the Chinese.
The durability of enamel has given it many functional applications, including: early 20th century advertising signs, interior walls of ovens, speckleware cooking pots, exterior walls of high quality kitchen appliances, cast iron bathtubs, and storage silos on farms.
The bright, jewel-like colors have also made enamel a favored choice for designers of jewelry and bibelots, such as ancient beads, the fantastic eggs of Carl Fabergé, enameled copper boxes of Battersea enamellers, and artists such as George Stubbs and other painters of miniatures.
According to some sources, the word enamel comes from the High German word smelzan (to smelt) via the Old French esmail.
Some techniques of enameling:
- Cloisonné, French for "cell", where copper or gold wires separate differently colored areas.
- Champlevé - French for "raised field" where enamel is fired around raised fields of metal, leaving the metal exposed.
- Limoges – ceramic ware, such as jewelry boxes, painted with true enamel and fired.
- Pique-à-jour, resembles stained glass.
Color in enamel is obtained by the addition of various minerals, often based on the elements
cobalt,
praseodymium,
iron, or
neodymium, which last creates delicate shades ranging from pure violet through wine-red and warm gray.
See also:
External Links
- Mechanical and Physical Properties of Vitreous Enamel
- Institute of Vitreous Enamellers (UK)
"Enamel" paint
Some paints are called "enamel paints". This is a commonly used, yet fanciful term, implying that an ordinary latex or oil-based paint has the same properties as true, fired enamel.