An Elegant Processing Art: Enamel
Enamel art is a hand art that has been known and done for centuries. The enamel of metals as decorative dates back to very ancient times. We also see examples of them in the Ottoman and Seljuk civilizations. It requires great ingenuity and care. Due to the fact that many artifacts have been broken and lost, the enamel artifacts left over from ancient periods are rare and valuable. Recently, we have also seen an increase in interest in the jewelry sector. Enamel is a material that is a composition of gold powders, glass powders, metal oxides and many chemicals. Enamel art is based on the decoration of precious metals such as gold, silver and copper with enamel paints.
The Historical Journey of Mine Art
It is known that it has a history dating back to the 2000s BC. The earliest known examples are M. in Cyprus.He. They are jewelry recovered from a Mycenaean tomb dating back to 1200. It is believed that the oldest enamel works were learned from Egypt and Anatolia. It is known that they first made enamel on earthenware vessels in Egypt, and then decorated gold jewelry and jewelry with turquoise, dark blue, purple and emerald green enamels. The ancient Greeks also used enamel on statues according to the religious beliefs of the period and the arts performed. These works, made with fine workmanship, show that very successful works on enamel workmanship have been put forward. During the Byzantine period; It was widely used in Bible books, crosses, icons and box decorations. The oldest known enamel works in Islamic art are seen in gold jewelry dating from the Fatimid period. Later, enamel artifacts were found in the Artuqids. The Artuqid Emir had prepared copper stone that is one of the beautiful examples of enamel art in the 12th century for Davud. In the Ottoman, the enamel technique has become widespread since the second half of 17th the century.
How About Enamel Making? What are the Techniques of Enamel Art?
Jeweler's enamels are sold in pieces and powder. Those in pieces can be stored indefinitely, but those in powder form must be used within a certain period of time. The humidity in the air softens the enamel due to this, and this affects the enamel that gets into the fire. There are two types of enamel. One of them is transparent and the other is translucent. Both are produced in various colors. Enamel has also been used in interior and exterior decorations for the last few years.
Enamel, which appears after processing a hard and shiny layer on metal, consists of soda, borax, silicon and lead oxide substances. Different colors are obtained with various oxide mixtures. The amount of borax provides flexibility, so it should be adjusted very well. Otherwise, it will have a very flexible structure. There are three techniques as hot, cold and laser enameling.
In hot enameling, copper, silver or gold are processed in the desired way first. It is then cleaned to be cleaned of oil and dirt on it. The back of the jewelry is first baked and then the front side is cleaned again. The real face of the jewelry is enameled. After coating with enamel, it has a glassy surface.
Cold enameling is not such a laborious task as hot enameling. After the metal to be enameled is cleaned of oil and dirt, the process begins by making a mixture of 6 units of paint and 4 units of catalyst (freezer) ready. Then it is sent to baking. In cold enamel technique, there is no such thing as obtaining color by color mixing method.
Finally, there is no possibility of color mixing in laser enamel technique like other methods. As with cold enamel, the process is started with the help of a catalyst, and then it is taken to pre-drying. After the drying process is finished, the drying process continues in ultraviolet ovens.