MAKING CHINESE CLOISONNE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 2489, 12 July 1909, Page 8

MAKING CHINESE CLOISONNE.

Probably the finest quality of cloisonne now manufactured is that which comes from Peking. The base, whether vase, bowl, or dish, is of copper and is obtained ready made from the coppersmith. The design is then etched on the copper base, and delicate copper ribbons are shaped by means ot pincers to follow the lines of the design. These are cemented into position by means of a special vegetable glue, fortified by a metallic composition, which maintains the shape of the wire tracery while it is being annealed in a primitive oven surrounded by a wire cage containing charcoal, which is kept at a red heat with fans. When the vase is cool it is scoured in an acid decoction and is then ready for coloring. An artist, supplied with a number of saucers containing all the colors he requires, takes the vase, and, from memory, and without reference to any illustration, fills in the interstices between the wires (the cloisons) with the proper pigments. These consist of crystals with a base of saltpetre and a kind of calcareous sandstone found in the neighboring hills. The different colors are obtained by composition with iron pyrites, oxides of iron, or salts of lead. The , colored crystals, ground to a powder, are mixed with ricewater, and the resulting paste, forms the base of the enamel. The colors are applied by means of a small trowel, and the operation calls for great skill and dexterity. When all the spaces are filled the vase is again baked: in the oven for a certain number of minutes, as decided by the expert in charge of this operation. When cool the vase is smoothed off with a file and returned to the coloring room, where all defects are made good. In some cases several of the spaces must be done over again; the solid vitreous color is chipped out and the cloisou refilled with < paste. i The vase is again baked and polished, this time with limestone, on a'lathe. The f retouching, rebaking, and polishing are 1 continued until the desired result is ob- t tamed. The final polishing is done with t charcoal. t The vase is then ready for gilding, t which is done by an ordinary galvanic c process, and a final polishing renders the c irticle ready for the market. c