![WLA lacma Central Germany mug with Arms Roman Empire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/WLA_lacma_Central_Germany_mug_with_Arms_Roman_Empire.jpg)
Enamelled glass or painted glass is glass which has been decorated with
vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...
(powdered glass, usually mixed with a binder) and then fired to
fuse the glasses. It can produce brilliant and long-lasting colours, and be translucent or opaque. Unlike most methods of decorating glass, it allows painting using several colours, and along with
glass engraving
Engraved glass is a type of decorated glass that involves shallowly engraving the surface of a glass object, either by holding it against a rotating wheel, or manipulating a "diamond point" in the style of an engraving burin. It is a subgroup of ...
, has historically been the main technique used to create the full range of image types on glass.
All proper uses of the term "enamel" refer to glass made into some flexible form, put into place on an object in another material, and then melted by heat to fuse them with the object. It is called
vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...
or just "enamel" when used on metal surfaces, and "enamelled"
overglaze
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firing ...
decoration when on pottery, especially on
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
. Here the supporting surface is glass. All three versions of the technique have been used to make brush-painted images, which on glass and pottery are the normal use of the technique.
Enamelled glass is only one of the techniques used in luxury glass, and at least until the
Early Modern period it appears in each of the leading centres of this extravagant branch of the
decorative arts
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
, although it has tended to fall from fashion after two centuries or so. After a brief appearance in ancient Egypt, it was first made in any quantity in various Greco-Roman centres under the Roman Empire, then medieval Egypt and Syria, followed by medieval
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, from where it spread across Europe, but especially to the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. After a decline from the mid-18th century, in the late 19th century it was revived in newer styles, led by French glassmakers. Enamel on metal remained a constant in goldsmithing and jewellery, and though enamelled glass seems to virtually disappear at some points, this perhaps helped the technique to revive quickly when a suitable environment arrived.
It has also been a technique used in
stained glass windows, in most periods supplementary to other techniques, and has sometimes been used for portrait miniatures and other paintings on flat glass.
Techniques
Glass is enamelled by mixing powdered glass, either already coloured (more usual) or clear glass mixed with the pigments, with a binder such as
gum arabic
Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the ''Acacia'' tree, '' Senegalia se ...
that gives a thick liquid texture allowing it to be painted with brushes. Generally the desired colours only appear when the piece is fired, adding to the artist's difficulties. As with enamel on metal,
gum tragacanth may be used to make sharp boundaries to the painted areas. The paint is applied to the vessel, which has already been fully formed; this is called the "blank" . Once painted, the enamelled glass vessel needs to be fired at a temperature high enough to melt the applied powder, but low enough that the vessel itself is only "softened" sufficiently to fuse the enamel with the glass surface, but not enough to deform or melt the original shape (unless this is desired, as it may be). The binding and demarcating substances burn away.
Until recent centuries the enamel firing was done holding the vessel in a furnace on a
pontil
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...
(long iron rod), with the glassmaker paying careful attention to any changes in the shape. Many pieces show two
pontil mark
A pontil mark or punt mark is the scar where the pontil, punty or punt was broken from a work of blown glass. The presence of such a scar indicates that a glass bottle or bowl was blown freehand, while the absence of a punt mark suggests either th ...
s on the base, where the pontil intruded on the glass, showing it had been on the furnace twice, before and after the enamels were applied. Modern techniques, in use since the 19th century, use enamels with a lower melting point, enabling the second firing to be done more conveniently in a kiln.
In fact some glassmakers allowed for a deforming effect in the second firing, which lowered and widened the shape of the vessel, sometimes very greatly, by making blanks that were taller and more narrow than the shape they actually wanted. The enamels leave a layer of glass projecting very slightly over the original surface, the edges of which can be felt by running a finger over the surface. Enamelled glass is often used in combination with gilding, but
lustreware
Lustreware or lusterware (respectively the spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze fini ...
, which often produces a "gold" metallic coating is a different process. Sometimes elements of the "blank", such as handles, may only be added after the enamel paints, during the second firing.
Glass is sometimes "cold painted" with enamel paints that are not fired; often this was done on the underside of a bowl, to minimize wear on the painted surface. This was used for some elaborate Venetian pieces in the early 16th century, but the technique is "famously impermanent", and pieces have usually suffered badly from the paint falling off the glass.
Some modern techniques are much simpler than historic ones. For instance, there now exist glass enamel pens.
Mica may also be added for sparkle.
History
Ancient
The history of enamelled glass begins in ancient Egypt not long after the start of making glass vessels (as opposed to objects such as beads) around 1500 BC, and some 1400 years before the invention of
glassblowing
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...
. A vase or jug, probably for perfumed oil, found in the tomb of the pharaoh
Tutmose III and now in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
dates to about 1425 BC. The base glass is blue, and it has geometrical decoration in yellow and white enamels; it is 8.7 cm high. However, and rather "incredibly", this is the only known enamelled glass piece from before (about) the first century AD.
Enamel was used to decorate glass vessels during the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
period, and there is evidence of this as early as the late Republican and early Imperial periods in the Levant, Egypt, Britain and around the Black Sea.
[Rutti, B., Early Enamelled Glass, in Roman Glass: two centuries of art and invention, M. Newby and K. Painter, Editors. 1991, Society of Antiquaries of London: London.] Designs were either painted freehand or over the top of outline incisions, and the technique probably originated in metalworking.
Production is thought to have come to a peak in the
Claudian period and persisted for some three hundred years,
though archaeological evidence for this technique is limited to some forty vessels or vessel fragments.
Among a variety of pieces, many perhaps fall into two broad groups: tall, clear drinking glasses painted with scenes of sex (from mythology) or violence (hunting, gladiators), and then low bowls, some of coloured glass, painted with birds and flowers. This latter group appear to date to about 20–70 AD, and findspots are widely distributed across the empire, indeed many are found beyond its borders; they may have been made in north Italy or Syria.
The largest group of survivals comes from the
Begram Hoard, found in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, a deposit of various luxury items in storerooms, probably dating to the 1st century AD, or perhaps later. In the past they have been dated to the 3rd century. The group has several goblets and other pieces with figures. It is thought these pieces were made in a Roman centre around the Mediterranean, perhaps
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
.
File:Cirkusbæger-fra-Varpelev DO-2608 original (cropped).jpg, Roman bowl with bird, found outside the empire, in modern Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
File:Goblet Abduction of Europa Begram Hoard Guimet MG21228 n01.jpg, Goblet with ''Abduction of Europa'', Begram Hoard
File:Begram Painted Goblet Depicting Figures Harvesting Dates. Glass made in Roman Egypt, 1st Century C.E., Begram Room 10.jpg, Goblet with date harvesting, Begram Hoard
File:The Achilles on Skyros cup, enameled painting on glass, 3rd century AD, found in Cologne, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (14977739439).jpg, ''Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
on Skyros'', detail of tall Roman goblet, found in Koln
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
, Germany, a major glass-making centre, 3rd century
Byzantine
After about the 3rd century Greco-Roman enamelled glass disappears, and there is another long gap in the history of the technique. This is ended in spectacular fashion by a 10th or 11th-century Byzantine bowl in the Treasury of
Saint Mark's, Venice. This is of very high quality and shows great confidence in using the technique, which had no doubt been reborrowed from enamel on metal, although Byzantine enamel uses brush painting very little. Some other, technically similar works, one possibly from the same workshop, are also extant.
Islamic
![Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun MET DP214292 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Mosque_Lamp_of_Amir_Qawsun_MET_DP214292_%28cropped%29.jpg)
There is little surviving Byzantine enamelled glass, but enamel was much used for jewellery and religious objects, and appears again on glass in the Islamic
Mamluk Empire from the 13th century onwards, used for
mosque lamp
Mosque lamps of enamelled glass, often with gilding, survive in considerable numbers from the Islamic art of the Middle Ages, especially the 13th and 14th centuries, with Cairo in Egypt and Aleppo and Damascus in Syria the most important centres ...
s in particular, but also various types of bowls and drinking glasses.
Gilding is often combined with enamels. The painted decoration was generally abstract, or inscriptions, but sometimes included figures. The places of manufacture are generally assumed to have been in Egypt or Syria, with any more precise locating tentative and somewhat controversial. Enamels used oil-based medium and a brush or reed pen, and the physical properties of the medium encouraged inscriptions, which are useful for determining dates and authorship.
According to Carl Johan Lamm, whose two-volume book on Islamic glass (''Mittelalterliche Glaser und Steinschnittarbeiten aus dem Nahen Osten'', Berlin, 1929/30) has long been the standard work, the main centres, each with its own style, were in turn
Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...
(1170–1270),
Aleppo (13th century),
Damascus (1250–1310) and
Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by t ...
(Cairo, 1270–1340). However this chronology has been disputed in recent years, tending to push dates later, and rearranging the locations. In particular there is disagreement as to whether elaborate pieces with figural decoration are early or late, effectively 13th or 14th century, with Rachel Ward arguing for the later dates.
The shape of mosque lamps in this period is very standard; despite being suspended in the air through their lugs when in use, they have a broad foot, a rounded central body, and a wide flaring mouth. Filled with oil, they lit not only mosques, but also similar spaces such as
madrassa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
s and mausoleums. Mosque lamps typically have the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
ic
verse of light
The Verse of Light ( ar-at, آیة النور, āyat an-nūr) is the 35th verse of the 24th surah of the Quran ( Q24:35).
Verse
Commentary
The eighth Imam of the Twelver Imami Shiites Ali ibn Moses says in the interpretation of this verse:He is ...
written on them, and very frequently record the name and title of the donor, an important thing as far as he was concerned, as well as the name of the reigning sultan; they are thus easy to date reasonably precisely. As Muslim rulers came to have quasi-heraldic blazons, these are often painted.
Enamelled glass became more rare, and of rather poorer quality, in the 15th century. This decline may have been partly due to the sack of Damascus by
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
in 1401, as has often been claimed, though by then Cairo was the main centre.
Some secular vessels have painted decoration including figures; some of this may have been intended for non-Islamic export markets, or Christian customers, which is clearly the case with a few pieces, including a bottle elaborately painted with clearly Christian scenes that may commemorate the election for a new abbot at a Syrian monastery. Other pieces show the courtly scenes of princes, riders hawking or fighting, that is found in other media in contemporary
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
, and sometimes inscriptions make it clear these were intended for Muslim patrons.
After mosque lamps, the most common shape is a tall beaker, flaring towards the top. This was made somewhat differently from the mosque lamps, the flaring apparently done in the course of the second firing. These often have figural decoration, although the
Luck of Edenhall, perhaps the finest of the group, does not. Some have decoration of fishes or birds, and other humans, often on horseback. The Palmer Cup in the
Waddesdon Bequest
In 1898, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bequeathed to the British Museum as the Waddesdon Bequest the contents from his New Smoking Room at Waddesdon Manor. This consisted of a wide-ranging collection of almost 300 ''objets d'art et de vertu ...
(
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
) shows an enthroned ruler flanked by attendants, a scene often found in
overglaze enamel
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firi ...
s on
Persian pottery
Persian pottery or Iranian pottery is the pottery made by the artists of Persia (Iran) and its history goes back to early Neolithic Age (7th millennium BCE). Agriculture gave rise to the baking of clay, and the making of utensils by the peopl ...
mina'i ware
ware is a type of Persian pottery developed in Kashan, Iran, in the decades leading up to the Mongol invasion of Persia in 1219, after which production ceased. It has been described as "probably the most luxurious of all types of ceramic war ...
in the decades around 1200. Two beakers in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
(one illustrated below), have Christian scenes.
[Carboni, 244]
File:Siria, bicchiere con giocatori di polo, 1250-1300 ca. vetro soffiato, dorato e smaltato.JPG, Beaker with polo-players, 1250–1300
File:Syrian - Beaker - Walters 4718 - View Z C (cropped).jpg, Syrian beaker, probably with Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. One of a pair, perhaps for the Crusader market.
File:Syrian - Bottle - Walters 479.jpg, 13th-century bottle, Syria, likely used for perfume
Gilded and enamelled mosque lamp - detail.jpg, Egyptian mosque lamp, 14th century
File:Bucket, syria, 14th century (cropped).jpg, Bucket, Syria, 14th century
File:Plate MET DT4611.jpg, 14th-century plate
Western Europe
![Coupe avec cortège allégorique (Louvre, OA 7564)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Coupe_avec_cort%C3%A8ge_all%C3%A9gorique_%28Louvre%2C_OA_7564%29.jpg)
It is now known that the technique was being used in
Venetian glass
Venetian glass () is glassware made in Venice, typically on the island of Murano near the city. Traditionally it is made with a soda–lime "metal" and is typically elaborately decorated, with various "hot" glass-forming techniques, as well as ...
from the late 13th century, mostly to make beakers. Until about 1970 it was thought it did not appear in Venice until around 1460,
[Osborne, 335] and surviving early Venetian pieces were attributed elsewhere. The Aldrevandin(i) Beaker in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
is now regarded as a work of about 1330, having once been thought to be much later. It is an armorial beaker that is, unusually, inscribed with the name of its maker: "“magister aldrevandin me feci(t)” – probably the decorator.
[Gudenrath, 47–50]
Aldrevandini beaker
British Museum It is "the iconic head of a group of more or less similar objects" and arguably "the most widely known and published medieval European glass vessel". It is large and "has considerable visual “gravity.” When it is held, however, it is shockingly lightweight" with in most parts, the glass sides "scarcely more than a millimeter thick".
Angelo Barovier
Angelo Barovier (, in Venice – 1460, in Venice) was an Italian glass artist. Raised in a family with a long tradition of glass working, Barovier was certainly the best-known member and significant for uniting the knowledge passed down for gener ...
's workshop was the most important in Venice in the mid-15th century – in the past his family was credited with introducing the technique. Much Venetian glass was exported, especially to the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, and copied increasingly expertly by local makers, especially in Germany and
Bohemia. By the 16th century the place of manufacture of pieces described as "
facon de Venise" ("Venetian style") is often hard to discern.
Armorial glass, with a painted
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
or other
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
insignia, was extremely popular with the wealthy. The painting was often not done at the same time or place as the main vessel was made; it might even be in a different country. This remains an aspect of enamelled glass; by the 19th century some British-made glass was even being sent to India to be painted. The ''
Reichsadlerhumpen
An Imperial Eagle beaker (german: Reichsadlerhumpen), or eagle glass, was a popular drinking vessel from the 16th until the late 18th century in the Holy Roman Empire. The enamelled glass was decorated with a double-headed eagle, usually in the s ...
'' or "Imperial Eagle beaker" was a large beaker, holding as much as three litres, presumably for beer, showing the double-headed eagle of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, with the arms of the imperial various territories on its wings. This was a popular showpiece that did not need customised designs. It was probably first made in Venice, but was soon mainly made in Germany and Bohemia.
By the 17th century, "German enamelling became stereotyped within a limited range of subjects", most often using the ''humpen'' beaker shape.
The earliest dated enamelled ''humpen'' is from 1571, in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
; a late example, dated 1743, is illustrated above. Another standard design was the ''Kurfürstenhumpen'' or "Elector's beaker", showing the
Electors of the Holy Roman Emperor
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
, often in procession on horseback, in two registers, or alternatively seated around the emperor. Drinking glasses with royal arms are often called ''hofkellereihumpen'' (court cellar beaker). Other subjects are seen, including religious ones such as the ''Apostelhumpen'', with the
twelve apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
, hunting scenes, standard groups of
personifications such as the
Four Seasons,
Ages of Man
The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent Roman interpretation.
Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to progress from an orig ...
and the like, and pairs of lovers. In Renaissance Venice, "betrothal" pieces were made to celebrate engagements or weddings, with the coats of arms or idealized portraits of the couple.
![Victoria and Albert Museum Glassware 17042019 Cup and saucer Glass Venice 1730-1745 7228](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum_Glassware_17042019_Cup_and_saucer_Glass_Venice_1730-1745_7228.jpg)
Enamelled glass ceased to be fashionable in Italy by around 1550, but the broadly Venetian style remained popular in Germany and Bohemia until the mid-18th century, after which the remaining production was of much lower quality, though often bright and cheerful in a
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
way. It is sometimes called "peasant glass", though neither the makers nor customers fitted that description. Enamelled glass was now relatively cheap, and the more basic styles were no longer a luxury preserve of the rich. By this time a new style using opaque white
milk glass
Milk glass is an opaque or translucent, milk white or colored glass that can be blown or pressed into a wide variety of shapes. First made in Venice in the 16th century, colors include blue, pink, yellow, brown, black, and white.
Principle
Mi ...
had become popular in Italy, England and elsewhere. The glass was hard to distinguish visually from
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
, but much cheaper to make, and the enamel painting technique was very similar to the
overglaze enamel
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firi ...
painting by then the standard for expensive porcelain. The English makers specialized in small vases, typically up to seven inches tall, usually with a couple of ''chinoiserie'' figures; London,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and south
Staffordshire were centres. Even smaller perfume or
snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
bottles with stoppers were also being made in China itself, where they represented a cheaper alternative to materials such as
jade.
A distinct style that originated with the glassmaker Johann Schaper of
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
in Germany around 1650 was the ''schwarzlot'' style, using only black enamel on clear or sometimes white milk glass. This was a relatively linear style, with images often drawing on contemporary
printmaking. Schaper himself was the best artist to use it, specializing in landscapes and architectural subjects. The style was practiced in Germany and Bohemia until about 1750, and indeed is sometimes used on a large scale on German windows much later.
In the 19th century there was increasing technical quality in many parts of Europe, initially with revivalist or over-elaborate Victorian styles; the
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
firm of
Moser was a leading producer. In the later part of the century fresher and more innovative designs, often anticipating
Art Nouveau, were led by French makers such as
Daum and
Émile Gallé
Émile Gallé (8 May 1846 in Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of ...
. It was for the first time possible to kiln-fire pieces, greatly simplifying the process and making it more reliable, reducing the risk of having to reject pieces and so allowing more investment in elaborate decorative work.
![Stained Glass Panel with the Visitation MET MED700](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Stained_Glass_Panel_with_the_Visitation_MET_MED700.jpg)
Most pieces were now relatively large vases or bowls for display; the style related to design movements in other media such as
art pottery
Art pottery is a term for pottery with artistic aspirations, made in relatively small quantities, mostly between about 1870 and 1930. Typically, sets of the usual tableware items are excluded from the term; instead the objects produced are mostly ...
, the
Arts and Crafts movement, but was often especially well suited to glass. This style, culminating in
Art Nouveau glass, was normally extremely well made, and often used a variety of techniques, including enamel. The best known American firm, making
Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northrop, an ...
, was not especially associated with the use of enamel, but it frequently appears, often as a minor element in designs.
On flat glass
Enamelled glass is mostly associated with glass vessels, but the same technique has often been used on flat glass. It has often been used as a supplementary technique in
stained glass windows, to provide black linear detail, and colours for areas where great detail and a number of colours are required, such as the coats of arms of donors. Some windows were also painted in
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
. The black material is usually called "glass paint" or "grisaille paint". It was powdered glass mixed with iron filings for colour and binders, which was applied to glass pieces before the window was made up, and then fired. It therefore is essentially a form of enamel, but is not usually so called when talking about stained glass, where "enamel" refers to other colours, often applied over the whole surface of one of the many pieces making up a design .
Enamel on metal was used for
portrait miniatures in 16th-century France, and enjoyed something of a revival after about 1750. Some artists, including
Henry Bone
Henry Bone (6 February 1755 – 17 December 1834) was an English enamel painter who was officially employed in that capacity by three successive monarchs, George III, George IV and William IV. In his early career he worked as a porcelain a ...
, sometimes painted in enamels on glass rather than the usual copper plate, without the change in base material making much difference to their style.
Jean-Étienne Liotard
Jean-Étienne Liotard (; 22 December 1702 – 12 June 1789) was a Swiss painter, art connoisseur and dealer. He is best known for his portraits in pastel, and for the works from his stay in Turkey. A Huguenot of French origin and citizen of the ...
, who usually worked in
pastel, made at least one
genre painting in enamels on glass.
[Swoboda, Gudrun, "Point of View #2: Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702–1789), Painter of Extremes", 7–10, 14, in KHM Ansichtssache #2, Vienna,]
online
/ref>
Gallery
Venitian glass circa 1330 with enamel decoration derived from Islamic technique and style.jpg, Aldrevandini beaker, a Venetian glass with enamel decoration derived from Islamic technique and style. .
File:BLW Goblet.jpg, Goblet, Venice, 1475–1510
File:Apostles Beaker and Cover (Apostelhumpen) LACMA 48.24.214a-b.jpg, German ''Apostelhumpen'', 1600–50
File:Victoria and Albert Museum Glassware 17042019 Glass painted in black enamels Nuremberg About 1680 7294.jpg, Glass painted in black enamel (''schwarzlot''), Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
File:Base for a Water Pipe (huqqa) LACMA M.76.2.13 (cropped).jpg, Base for a Water Pipe (huqqa), Lucknow, India, 1700–1750
File:Mug MET DP241900 (cropped).jpg, Bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
mug, 18th century, typical of so-called "peasant glass"
File:Vase MET DP244083 (cropped).jpg, English vase with chinoiserie
(, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...
shape and decoration, 5 inches tall, 1755–65, probably Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
File:MET DP295311 (cropped).jpg, Chinese snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
bottle, 18th-century, 3 inches high
File:Dog chasing a rabbit in a landscape with dacha and hut MET ES5167.jpg, Novelty Russian tumbler; the glass has two layers, and the gap has the landscape image built up with moss, straw, paper, sand, stone, clay and mica, as well as painted enamel, 1800–10
File:Venetian Goblet QM r.jpg, Italian goblet, 19th century
File:Moser Glass Pitcher.jpg, Moser pitcher, Bohemia,
File:Vase (France), late 19th century (CH 18470945) (cropped).jpg, Daum vase with forest scene, French, late 19th century
File:Vase Herbes et Papillons, 2.jpg, Vase ''Herbes et Papillons'' ("Grass and Butterflies"), Émile Gallé
Émile Gallé (8 May 1846 in Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of ...
,
File:Murano Glass Museum 27022015 04 (cropped).jpg, Dish cold-painted on the underside with Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
nudes, Venice, after 1550, showing the severe losses of paint
File:Japanese cloisonne type Musen shippo.jpg, Japanese enamel made using the musen shippō (無線七宝) technique; wire is used to locate the glass, but then removed before firing.
Notes
References
*Carboni, Stephen, and others, ''Glass of the Sultans: Twelve Centuries of Masterworks from the Islamic World'', Corning Museum of Glass / Metropolitan Museum of Art / Yale UP, 2001,
online
*Gudenrath, William, "Enameled Glass Vessels, 1425 BCE – 1800: The Decorating Process", ''Journal of Glass Studies'', vol. 48, pp. 23–70, 2006
JSTOR
Online at the Corning Museum of Glass (no page numbers)
*Osborne, Harold (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts'', 1975, OUP,
*Ward, Rachel, "Mosque lamps and enamelled glass: Getting the dates right", in ''The Arts of the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria: Evolution and Impact'', ed. Doris Behrens-Abouseif, 2012, V&R unipress GmbH, , 9783899719154
google books
* Whitehouse, David, "Begram: The Glass", ''Topoi' Orient-Occident'', 2001 11-1, pp. 437–449
online
{{Glass forming
Coatings
Glass applications
Glass compositions
Glass art
Vitreous enamel