C is for Cloisonné

Not quite up to Peter Carl's famous jewelled 'Faberge' eggs of Imperial Russia's Czars, but pretty nevertheless. My favorite type of decorative object - if I have just one! - as cloisonné tends to very rich colours due to the depth of the enamel - powdered glass - while the little trails of metal always give it an outlined, cartoon-like, quality.

Cloisonné is a method of enameling, especially curved objects, by reducing the area to be covered by breaking it into lots of little areas or chambers, using thin metal wire or ribbon which is then soldered into place.

The chambers are then filled with enamel powder (or on something as curved as this; a paste) and when fired it won't flow beyond the 'walls' of the chamber (which on these eggs; is formed of fine brass ribbon) due to a type of 'water tention' keeping them within their bounds.

From a distance we can see it's a mass of blue chrysanthemums (a typical oriental or 'chinoiserie' motif) with the odd green leaf sprinkled among the blue.

This one is a mass of butterflies or moths flying hither and thither! I don't know the significance of the holes both these eggs have, but suspect it's related to the firing; as in somewhere to hang the egg in the oven without leaving a mark in the enamel? It may be for more straightforward, decorative 'hanging' purposes?

And . . . is that the Cherilea hen we looked at the other day? It makes a good painting guide!