How much do you really know about enamel? Behind this word lies an age-old, complex know-how that master glassmakers have continually reinvented over the centuries.
Already used in Ancient Greece in the 2nd millennium BC, enameling is the product of a skillful alchemy involving the fusion of metal and glass.
Enamel work was very popular in France between the 12th and 17th centuries and was passed down through the great families of enamellers, who were constantly developing new techniques: champlevé enamel, which was very popular in the Middle Ages, particularly in Limoges; grisaille enamel, typical of the work of Pierre Reymond (around 1513-1584); and plique-à-jour enamel, used by Charles Riffault, a Parisian enameller and jeweler who worked for Maison Boucheron in the 1870s and 1880s. Enamel also played a part in the creative explosion of Art Nouveau, fueled by the proliferation of scientific knowledge at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
As a regular companion to the technical and ornamental research that has punctuated the history of jewelry, enamel intrigues and inspires...
In-Person Conversation (in French):
Tuesday, November 26th, 2024
8:00 – 9:00pm: Conversation in French
Talk given at l’InterContinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu, 20 Quai Jules Courmont, 69002 Lyon
Speakers
With Marie Oberlin, Master Enameler and Lecturer at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts
& Florent Guérif, Art Historian and Lecturer at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts
Photo: Hairpin (detail), Boucheron, 1870
Enamel attributed to Charles Riffault
Blonde horn, enamel, gold, diamonds, fine pearl and cultured pearl
Paris, Boucheron Collection - Photo: Benjamin Chelly