276
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
and beauty are produced. In this art the design is first marked out upon the metallic or porcelain surface by thin strips of brass, bent and folded, so as to mark all the details of an intricate pattern. These are fastened to the surface on edge by soldering, and the cavities or cloissons thus formed are filled in with fusible enamels of different colors. The piece is then baked, the enamels fuse into the cells, and, after cooling, the whole surface is ground off smooth, bringing the enamels and the thin brass partings to a flush finish. Dark blues and greens, with a sprinkling of red and white, are the usual colors.
Imitations are now made extensively in France and in England. Some of these productions are remarkable for their beauty and perfection of finish. Special mention should be made of specimens shown by Barbedienne and by Elkington.
There is one variety of cloissonee enamel on porcelain which is rare, only a few specimens having been seen in the United States. Porcelain body is substituted for metal, and the brass partitions seem to be inserted directly in the porcelain body. A cup in the writer’s collection is so enamelled over the whole exterior, while the interior is ordinary white, translucent porcelain.
Some of the choicest specimens of Chinese cloissonee were obtained at the sacking of the summer palace of the emperor, and, together with wonderfully wrought specimens of jade and other decorative .objects, were distributed from thence over Europe.
III. Flook, Wall, and Ornamental Tiles.
The Exhibition contained a rich assemblage of decorative tiles of several countries, notably from Great Britain, where the art has attained its greatest perfection. Little, in fact, remains to be desired in respect of excellence of materials, perfection of form, and beauty of design. The highest skill of the potter and the best efforts of decorative artists are called into requisition in this manufacture, and the resources of the chemist’s art, applied to enamels, are taxed to their