One of China's characteristic arts and crafts, it is made of red copper, which is made by kneading copper wires into various patterns, welding them on copper tires, filling them with enamel glaze and then firing them. During the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing produced a large number of enamels, most of which were blue, so it was called cloisonne.

Cloisonne, as an artistic handicraft, is made by drawing patterns on the surface of bronze ware with enamel of various colors, embedding copper wires or gold and silver wires around the patterns, and then firing at high temperature. This craft began in Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty, and it was only blue at first, so it was called cloisonne. Although there are various colors now, they still use their previous names. Because cloisonne has become the name of a craft, not a color, it is said that cloisonne is the son of Xuande and attaches great importance to the casting and smelting of bronzes and copper. Jingtai was deeply involved in it when he was young, but in casting, Xuande had reached the extreme and could not make a breakthrough, so he tried to find another way to win by surprise. Finally, cloisonne was created. Because the color planning in advance is extremely painstaking, after success, they also like it very much. The old ornaments of the royal family are all made of cloisonne, and there are countless porcelain materials. During the Chenghua period, they inherited the legacy and did not change it. Therefore, cloisonne artifacts are the most common in Jingtai and Chenghua periods. Later, it experienced Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing, Qin Long and other dynasties. Although they were still fired, they all followed the rules and told false stories, which were not as good as Jingtai and Chenghua years in quality. After Wanli, although it was occasionally popular, it didn't regard setting up an official factory as a routine business as before, so there were few products in the future. It failed to revive in the late Ming Dynasty. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was fired again, with many categories and good results. Although it can't be compared with Jingtai and Chenghua periods, it is not inferior to the products produced after Zheng Hong. Although there are cultural relics from Kang Yong today, they are no different from those made by Qianlong. In fact, it was made in Qianlong, with the year of Kang Yong engraved on it, but it was not made in Kang Yong.

Generally speaking, the copper of cloisonne tires in Ming dynasty is better, mostly copper tires, and the tire body is slightly heavier, so the shape is antique. The main color glaze used to imitate bronze is natural mineral materials with deep and bright colors, such as ruby red and turquoise green. At this time, the silk is thicker and the gilded part is thicker. Most colored glazes have sand holes. There are "Daming Jingtai Year System" or "Jingtai Year System", with both bottom payment and side payment.

Cloisonne craft in Qing dynasty is better than that in Ming dynasty. The tire is thin, the thread is thin, the glass is brighter than that of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no sand hole. The patterns are complex and diverse, but not as vivid as the ornaments of the Ming Dynasty. The gilded part is thin gold, but the gold is beautiful.

During the Republic of China, the overall level of cloisonne was not as good as that of the previous generation, with thin carcass, bright colors and rough workmanship. At this time, there were only "Shenyi" and "Dexingcheng", and the cloisonne made was fine in workmanship and good in quality. Many antique bronzes are imitations, or imitations of fine works and models of Qianlong period are carved. At present, cloisonne has many furnishings and is not practical.

Nowadays, the craft of cloisonne has been greatly improved, and various shapes and patterns have become the best gifts for us to communicate with international friends and relatives.

Cloisonne is a unique handicraft that combines porcelain and copper. To make cloisonne, first, we should use copper as a tire, then craftsmen draw pictures on it, then stick patterns on the copper tire with copper wires according to the pictures, and then embed enamel glazes of different colors in the patterns. Finally, it is made by repeated sintering, polishing and gold plating. Cloisonne is not only made of bronze and porcelain, but also integrated with traditional hand-painted and carved techniques, which is a master of China's traditional techniques.

Cloisonne making

To make exquisite cloisonne, we must go through the following steps:

1. Moulding (tire making): Cut the copper sheet into different shapes according to the drawing requirements, beat it into copper tires of various shapes with a hammer, and then connect all parts with good flux. After high-temperature welding, it becomes the shape of copper tires for utensils.

Second, wire clamping: the flattened thin copper wire is clipped into various exquisite patterns with tweezers, then dipped in bletilla striata and stuck on the copper tire, then screened with silver welding powder, baked at 900 degrees, and the copper wire pattern is firmly welded on the copper tire.

Third, point blue: the welded silk matrix can be glazed after pickling, flattening and finishing. The so-called point blue is to use a metal spatula to fill all kinds of enamel glazes into the gaps of silk patterns, and after melting at a high temperature of 800 degrees, the powder glaze is melted into a flat and bright glaze. Only by repeatedly glazing and melting twice to three or four times can the glaze and copper wire be uniform, and the vessel be covered with a gorgeous, elegant and colorful coat.

4. Polishing: The uneven blue glaze is smoothed by coarse stones, Yellowstone and charcoal for three times, and all uneven parts need to be polished repeatedly after the glaze is melted. Finally, use charcoal and scraper to scrape the copper wire, bottom line and mouth line without blue glaze.

5. Gold plating: After the polished cloisonne is cleaned, decontaminated and sanded, it is put into gold plating solution and electrified. After a few minutes, the gold solution will firmly adhere to the metal part of cloisonne. After washing, rinsing and drying, a gorgeous cloisonne stands out. Gold-plated cloisonne with finely carved hardwood base shows its elegant, dignified and beautiful appearance.

With the continuous development of cloisonne and the needs of the market, some special-shaped products, practical products, tourist souvenirs and high-quality, large-scale, refined, sharp and high-grade cloisonne are produced in large quantities, and new varieties, new colors and new technologies are constantly emerging. In recent years, there have been cloisonne without tire and cloisonne with silver tire, cloisonne combined with enamel painting and cloisonne, cloisonne made by machine, and silver crystal blue imitating Qibao burn in Japan. In particular, the combination of multi-process and cloisonne is particularly prominent. This is a kind of cloisonne as the main body, combined with tooth carving, jade carving, wood carving, lacquer art, filigree inlay and other techniques. Due to the ingenious combination of various techniques, various materials set off each other, and a large number of gems run through the inlay, the works are novel and exquisite, and the whole body exudes the breath of jewelry.

Identification of cloisonne

Cloisonne in Ming Dynasty is the best. The products made in the Ming Dynasty are all transparent materials without magnetism, and the color of big green is even more transparent than other colors. Its performance is similar to that of glass. Its color is oil green as jade, red as chicken blood, purple as dark amethyst, blue like blue, white like solidified fat, light green like blue, yellow like yellow rice squeezing ginger juice, its silk embryo is all brass, with large gold plating, and trachoma on the vessel. In the Qianlong period, no matter what color, its material was opaque and magnetic, because there was no bright material of the Ming Dynasty at this time. Therefore, its silk tires are mostly red copper, and gold plating is also fire plating. Made by dry embossing, yellow and white are the best. Its yellow is yellow and dry, just like the boiled egg yellow. Later, it was copied, mostly yellow-green or red, which was not similar to the dry yellow when dry embossing. The white color of Qianlong is also the most difficult to imitate. There are two reasons: first, because its white color is the same as that of Dongqushi, imitators must make six kinds of fixed beads, which are not easy to get. First, because it is white and dry, later chefs invented a dry material, but it is not easy to melt when burned. Compared with other materials, eating fire is particularly fierce. If it is not made by skilled craftsmen, the utensils are easily injured.