Cloisonné Tea Tray

Cloisonné enamel (掐丝珐琅) is a traditional decorative technique. Wide flat metal strips are applied to a metalwork object to make artwork with small compartments. Then various paint, gems, glass, and other decorative materials are used to fill in those wired compartments.

This technique originated in Egypt and fully developed in Europe. It spread to ancient China and the best works were produced during the Ming dynasty, during the reign of the emperor Jing Tai. As a result, the artwork made during that time period is called “Jing Tai Lan”, after the ruling emperor and “蓝” ("lan", blue) as blue was a popular color to use in cloisonné. One of the unique characteristics of the Chinese take on this art style is the paint used. The paint is rich in sand, which makes some amazingly smooth gradients. The artwork is kilned to finish.

Nowadays, this decorative technique can be used on a broad range of materials other than metal, as long as the material is sturdy and water resistant. Still, some materials are quite expensive (enamel in particular) and not everyone has a kiln at home.

I wanted to explore a more accessible way for this technique by making a Cloisonné version of the famous Song dynasty Chinese painting “A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains” by Ximeng Wang. This painting stands out in ancient Chinese art history by its usage of vibrant colors - yellow, blue, and green. The original artwork is a very long scroll, so, I am only going to portray part of the whole thing.

I hope everyone who is interested has the resources to give it a try!