Champleve Enamels.— The process of champleve enamel work consists of carving recesses in the body of the metal base and leaving the outline of the design on the metal untouched. In other words, instead of placing a network of wire to represent the design's outline (as with cloisonné) the body is carved away leaving only • the outline as upper sur face. The sunken recesses are filled in with enamel and fired (fused) and finished as with doisonne work. A defect in the cloisonné process is the fact that it is practical only on a gold, silver, gilt or a copper base. Cham pleve work can be practised on the baser metals, thus greatly reducing the expense of the material. No contre-email is required in this style. The French often term this style en faille d'epargne. By the 11th century Ger many was resorting to champleve enamel work on copper, and we find, for about two centuries, first one style alongside the other or the two methods displayed in one and the same piece. Whether Germany preceded Limoges in the production of champleve or the reverse seems to be a never-ending dis cussion. We are assured that Abbe Suger, of Saint Denis (1144), had work done by gold smiths from Lorraine. Champleve style was termed, in the 12th century, opus Lemoviticum quite frequently. But the Rhine provinces (Cologne, etc.) and Lower Saxony were active centres for this work at this time. While the Rhine product came from monasteries, that of Limoges was produced in workshops of civilians; the former, therefore, have tenden cies toward ecclesiastical symbolism, and the latter display simple, popular subjects and fewer inscriptions. Some early examples ex tant follow: Portable altars, one in the Treasury at Berlin; another in the Bamberg Cathedral (chest with flat cover), was, tradi tionally, a gift of the Emperor Heinrich (1002 24), having angel figures of enamel on the cover, Christ, Holy Virgin and Disciples on the sides. Enamel work is on the ambo (pul pit) at Aix-la-Chapelle; two crosses of similar form are in the Welfenschatz of Hanover, where are also two reliquary chests (chasses), one of which is the 'same Byzantine church form as that in the South Kensington Museum, from the Soltykoff collection. The other is in the form of a portable altar, rich in combined champleve and cloisonné, and has the inscrip tion "Eilbertes Coloniensis Me Fecit." Sieg burg also has several enamel decorated rel iquaries and portable altars of Cologne work manship. Saint Mary's Church, Cologne, has two very fine reliquaries, one of Saint Maurus, the other of Saint Albin. A noted example is the sarcophagus of Charlemagne in Aix-la Chapelle Cathedral. The richest of enameled reliquaries is that of the ((Three Kings" in Cologne Cathedral with its chased work, precious stones, cameos and enamel work in cloisonné and champleve (end of 12th cen tury). The so-called "Verdun altar" in Klos terneuburg, near Vienna, was an antependium in 1181, and consisted of 45 plates, but six were added in 1329, producing an altarpiece with wings. The plates have scenes from the Old Testament and the Evangels. The enamel triptych from Alton Towers, now in the Vic toria and Albert Museum (London), was made at Huy by Godfrey de Claire middle of the 12th century. Of the 73 Limoges champleve examples in Cluny Museum the two plates representing Saint Stephen de Muret are of the 12th century. In the Paris Louvre, among 80 Limoges champleve pieces we find a rosette shaped plate displaying the Vision of Saint Francis of Assisi; it is of the 13th century transition period, when the entire picture be comes covered with enamel and engraved work. In this new style the background is enameled but the figure is bare metal and en graved with line work. This left most of the art work to the engraver and the enamel took second consideration. This 13th century inno vation soon caused decadence in art enameling. In Italy some work was done in champleve, mostly on small plates of copper or silver, for the decoration of crucifixes, chalices, etc. They display, of course, Italian design. In Spain champleve work was done in the 16th century.
Emaux en Basse-Taille.— Called also translucent enamel work. This style is a com bination of sculpture and enameling. It origi
nated with the 13th century Italian Renaissance goldsmiths, and the 14th century goldsmiths continued it. The process consisted of sculp tured work in low relief on the metallic base and the filling in of the uneven surface with colored translucent enamels. Flesh parts are either colorless or of weak violet enamel. Noted enamelers in this style were Andre Og nobene (antependium in San Giacomo at Pis toja) ; Andrea Arditi (life-size bust of Saint Zanobi in Florence Cathedral) ; Francia, as Forzore; Veri (two reliquaries in Orvieto) ; Leonardo and Piero (parts of the altar of Pis toja) ; Braccini (chalice in Pistoja) ; Nicolo and Enrico Bonaventura (reliquary of the head of Saint Sigismond at Sienna) ; Pollajuolq (altar cross and pax in Florence) ; Finiguerra, the artist. The same style was practised. in France in the reign of Francois Premier, but the Limoges enamelers soon suppressed it. We find in this style extant a monstrance in the cathe dral treasury at Aix-la-Chapelle, dated 13th century, and two reliquaries in the form of chapels with translucent enamel windows; in Cologne Cathedral treasury is a superb cross in this style.
Emaux This style is similar to ordinary painting, the canvas being represented by a surface of enamel and enamel colors sub stituting oil colors. Its origin is in doubt. We first know of it as done in Limoges in the second half of the 15th century. The oldest known piece extant is a reliquary in the chapel of Saint Sulpice-les-Feuilles at Bourganeuf ; arrived there 1479. One process was to engrave an outline on the copper with an etching needle, cover thinly with translucent enamel, then trace the outlines in dark enamel. These lines formed the border for the other colors. The technique changed in the 16th century, when painting in white was done on a thick coat black or dark enamel. Thin layers of white formed the half-lights, heavy layers produced the lights; hatch ing the thick layers with a point some times produced the shading. Such manipulation produced the so-called en grisaille (gray on gray) style. Flesh parts were generally given a reddish color. Numerous firings were needed. After the beginning of the 16th century the copper received a background of brown, and the painting was done in translucent colors, the flesh parts being in opaque enamels. Limoges painters generally selected biblical subjects or saints till middle of the 16th century. Italian Renaissance decoration then appeared. Rosso and Primaticcio, Italian artists, called to the court of Francois Premier, made sketches for models, later taking to the work themselves. Plates were no longer the sole pieces, but also vessels and services, dishes, plates, bowls, pitchers, saltcellars, candlesticks, etc. They are found everywhere in collections. Of well known artists in this style must he mentioned the three Penicauds, Raymond, Leonard, Fran cols and Joseph Limosin, the Nouailher family, Courtois (or Courteys) family, Laudin family. H. Poncet, etc. In England Nic. Hilliard (1547-1619) did fine enamel miniatures. In York House, Battersea (London), at Billston and Liverpool, popular enamel painting on cop per was done.
*Venetian* This term defined certain dishes, pitchers, etc., in repousse (em bossed) work of the 16th century, generally of Renaissance forms, and entirely coated in enamel.
Enamels of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
—In 1632 Jean Toutin, French goldsmith, dis covered a process of painting in vitreous opaque colors on gold coated with white, or weakly colored, enamel, then firing. It was like painting on paper with water-colors, in sim plicity, as it avoided hatching for shades and coloring with • translucent enamels. The process, however, changed the style and enamel painting gave way to miniature painting in enamel pigments. It soon went out of fashion. Toutin and pastel painter Gribelin worked in this style and had many followers decorating vases, watches, rings, with genre scenes, flowers, etc. Noted in this style are Jean Peti tot, Georg Strauch, the brothers Peter and Amicus Huot, G. F. Dinglinger, Blesender, Mengs, Boit, van Mcytens, Meier, etc.