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. Great Museums in the World (Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Picasso …) CGFA: A Virtual Art Museum Very large website with good reproduction quality scans of thousands of paintings Art-Atlas. ... Technology (Gr. ... The materials definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. ... The word substrate can mean the following: In biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule which is acted upon by an enzyme. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Κεραμεικος (the name of a suburb of Athens), and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. ...

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.

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, storage silos on farms and process equipment such as chemical reactors and tanks for the chemical and pharmaceutical process industries. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... An oven is an enclosed compartment for heating, baking or drying. ... cast-iron iron enamel stainless steel The cooking pan is a type of food preparation utensil commonly found in the kitchen which includes many more specific cooking vessels such as saucepans and frying pans (or fry pans). ... Home appliances are electrical/mechanical appliances which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. ... Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron_based alloys containing more than 2% carbon (alloys with less carbon are carbon steel by definition). ... For the foundations of the World Trade Center, please see The Bathtub A bathtub is a plumbing fixture used for bathing. ... Concrete stave silo used for corn silage Silos are strucures for storing bulk materials. ... Bales of hay on a farm near Ames, Iowa A farm is the basic unit in agriculture. ...

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. Map of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt as a general historical term broadly refers to the civilization of the LowerNile Valley, between the First Cataract and the mouths of the Nile Delta, from circa 3300 BC until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... A Celtic cross. ...

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 Peter Carl Fabergé , enameled copper boxes of Battersea enamellers, and artists such as George Stubbs and other painters of portrait miniatures. Enameling was a favorite technique of the Art Nouveau jewellers. Peter Carl Fabergé (May 30, 1846 – September 24, 1920) was a Russian jeweller, best known for his fabulous Fabergé eggs, made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials. ... A self portrait by George Stubbs George Stubbs (born in Liverpool on August 25, 1724 – died in London July 10, 1806) was a British painter, best known for his paintings of horses. ... Some links to this page should perhaps link to miniature (illuminated manuscript). ... Alfons Mucha, lithographed poster Dancel (1898). ...

According to some sources, the word enamel comes from the High German word smelzan (to smelt) via the Old French esmail. Chemical reduction or smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy. ...

Champlevé enameled piece

enameled piece using stencil technique

Some techniques of enameling: This is a photograph of a piece of jewellery by Erin Silversmith. ... This is a photograph of a piece of jewellery by Erin Silversmith. ... This is a photograph of a piece of jewellery by Erin Silversmith. ... This is a photograph of a piece of jewellery by Erin Silversmith. ...

• Basse-taille, from the French word meaning "low-cut." The surface of the metal is decorated with a low relief design which can be seen through translucent and transparent enamels.
• Champlevé, French for "raised field" where enamel is fired around raised fields of metal, leaving the metal exposed.
• Cloisonné, French for "cell", where thin copper, silver or gold wires form walls which separate different areas.
• Grisaille, French term meaning "greying," where dark, often blue or black background is applied, then limoges or opalescent (translucent) enamel is aplied on top, building up designs in a monochrome gradient, paler as the thickness of the layer of light color increases.
• Limoges, named after the town in France where it was invented, is the technique of "painting" with an especial enamel called "blanc de limoges" over a dark enamelled surface to form a detailed picture, often human figure. It is a form of Grisaille.
• Plique-à-jour, French for "braid letting in daylight" where the enamel is applied in cells, similar to champlevé, but with no backing, so light can shine through the transparent or translucent enamel. It has a stained-glass like appearance.
• Ronde bosse, French for "round bump." A 3D type of enameling where a sculptural form is completely or partly enameled.
• Stenciling, where a stencil is placed over the work and the powdered enamel is sifted over the top. The stencil is removed before firing, the enamel staying in a pattern, slightly raised.
• Sgrafitto, where an unfired layer of enamel is applied over a previously fired layer of enamel of a contrasting color, and then partly removed with a tool to create the design.

• Counter enameling, not strictly a technique, but a necessary step in many techniques, is to apply enamel to the back of a piece as well - sandwiching the metal - to create less tension on the glass so it doesn't crack.

Color in enamel is obtained by the addition of various minerals, often metal oxides cobalt, praseodymium, iron, or neodymium. The last creates delicate shades ranging from pure violet through wine-red and warm gray. Enamel can be either transparent, opaque and opalescent (translucent) which is a variety that gains a milky opacity the longer it's fired. You cannot mix different enamel colours to make a new colour as you can with paint. You will end up with tiny specs of both colours; although you can trick the eye by grinding colors togheter to an extremely fine, flour like, powder. Cloisonné is a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. ... Location within France Limoges (Limòtges in Occitan) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture of the Haute-Vienne département, and the administrative capital of the Limousin région. ... Location within France Limoges (Limòtges in Occitan) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture of the Haute-Vienne département, and the administrative capital of the Limousin région. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cobalt, Co, 27 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 9 , 4, d Density, Hardness 8. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Praseodymium, Pr, 59 Chemical series Lanthanides Group, Period, Block _ , 6 , f Density, Hardness 6640 kg/m3, no data Appearance silvery white, yellowish tinge Atomic properties Atomic weight 140. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4, d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Neodymium, Nd, 60 Chemical series Lanthanides Group, Period, Block _ , 6, f Density, Hardness 6800 kg/m3, no data Appearance silvery white, yellowish tinge Atomic properties Atomic weight 144. ...

See also:

• Cloisonné
• Nineveh
• Rostov the Great
• Silicon

Cloisonné is a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. ... This article is about the ancient Middle Eastern city of Nineveh. ... The kremlin in Rostov Rostov (Russian: Росто́в) is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so called Golden ring. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ...

External links

Mechanical and Physical Properties of Vitreous Enamel

Institute of Vitreous Enamellers (UK)

Deutscher Emailverband (German Enamel Association (DE))

Glass on Metal Magazine Online (US)

CIDAE Center of Information and Difusion of the Art of Enamelling (ES)

Society of Dutch Enamellers (NL)

The Enamelist Society (US)

FREY WILLE Distinctive art-jewellery of precious enamel and gold - (EN) (DE) (FR) (JP)

"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. An enamel paint is a paint that dries to an especially hard, usually glossy, finish. ... For information on the U.S. borough, see Paint, Pennsylvania. ...