Chinese Enamelware

Enamel is glass-glaze painting that melts to form a decorative coating. Most enamelware are made of metal, mainly bronze. There are three main types of enamelware:- cloisonné, champleve and painted enamel.

Japanese Cloisonné

Japanese Cloisonné are exclusive to Japan, made by sintering metal casings with enamel or glaze coatings. They are mainly mosaic cloisonné, golden wire cloisonné and enamel cloisonné.

Chinese Enamelware and Japanese Cloisonné

Chinese cloisonné (Jingtai blue) dates back to the Yuan Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Ching Dynasty. With a long history of more than 600 years and three dynasties, cloisonné is recognised worldwide as imperial craftsmanship, national treasures of China and essence of Beijing.

Japanese cloisonné also has a high status in Japanese traditional arts, with its splendour, delicacy and notably Japanese style. It originated from the west and was introduced to China and Japan. Subsequently, it developed into an exceptional and unique oriental arts and craft tradition.

This book is an introduction to Chinese enamel and Japanese cloisonné which has the same origin but developed into different characteristics and styles.