AboutCHN

Cloisonné, or enamel art, is internationally considered a traditional Chinese art form, but according to Mao Jinfu, manager of the Beijing Enamel Factory, the materials were brought from Europe in the 1300s. Known as Jingtailan in Chinese, and named after Emperor Jing Tai of the Ming Dynasty, Cloisonné was considered a perfect combination of copperware and porcelain, both of which have been very popular in China.

The Beijing Enamel Factory puts out roughly 1,500 pieces of Cloisonné every year. Built in 1956, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the factory also has a shop and historical gallery. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

In the Beijing Enamel Factory, it can take up to six months, or even a year to create one piece, though the average is about three months. The art form is used to create a wide variety of works, from chopsticks to vases, and the price varies just as greatly. A pair of chopsticks can be found for as little as 50 yuan, or a little more than US$7, while the most expensive vase in the factory is worth millions.

The creation of one piece is simplified into five general steps: shaping the body, curling the copper wire outlines, filling the design with colored enamel, polishing and gilding. Between most of these steps, the pieces are baked to set the enamel.

The first step in creating Cloisonné is hammering out sheets of copper into the desired shape. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

Designers bend copper strips into the curved shapes based on the pattern they follow.[China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

The copper outlines form the design for the surface of the Cloisonné pieces. Bending these strips is the most important and most difficult part of the process, because it forms the basis for the whole pattern. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

The strips are applied to the base, often a vase or a plate, using a special herbal glue. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

After the glue is applied, the pieces are sent to the stove in a building outside the factory, where they are baked at temperatures between 800 and 1,000 degrees Celsius, to make sure the glue holds for the next steps. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

Then pieces are sent back inside the factory, where they are stored until it's time for the next step. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

Artists then take the pieces and paint them with colored enamel, filling in the spaces between the copper outlines. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

The enamel is a colored powder that is mixed with water and brushed onto the vases. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

The painting process can take a long time because after each layer of paint is applied, the pieces are baked and then painted again. This is repeated four or five times.[China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

After the last baking session, the pieces are sent to the polisher, who uses sandstone and an emery stone to smooth and shine the art. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

The final step is gilding, or adding the gold trim. Because this process produces some pollution, the pieces are sent to another part of China to be completed. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]

In the end, after months of work, the pieces wind up on the shelves of the Beijing Enamel Factory's store, where they wait to be taken to the homes around the world. [China.org.cn/By Courtney Price]