Cloisonne, also known as jingtailan in Chinese，is a unique combination of sculpture, painting, porcelain making and copper-smithing. It is a native art form in Beijing.

Cloisonne is said to have originated in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) but underwent a major change during the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when a new blue pigment was discovered. Hence Jingtailan got its current name based on the Chinese word lan for blue. Cloisonne reached its peak during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) due to great innovations in copper-melting techniques.

Making Cloisonne requires rather elaborate and complicated processes: making the copper-body; the copper-strip inlay; filling in the colorful enamel materials, burning it in the stove, finishing the surface and gilding. Each cloisonne piece is fired three times with a fresh coat of enamel each time. After firing, the pieces are polished to look like gold. This requires sophisticated techniques and an artistic flair.

Cloisonne is one of Beijing's famous four kinds of arts and crafts commodities. It is well known for its elegant shape, harmonious colors, various categories and brilliant characteristics at home and abroad.

Cloisonne can be found on large objects such as vases and other large utensils and decorative items, as well as small items like earrings, bracelets, chopsticks, bowls, lamps, and ornaments. All the products are beautiful and elegant in molding, brilliant and dazzling in colors and splendid and graceful in design. Beijing people like to give Cloisonne as gifts for it is something inherently Beijing.

Nowadays, because more and more senior craftsmen are passing away, the production factory is struggling to survive and this outstanding technique is on the verge of disappearing.

Detailed Making Process

The making of Cloisonne involves an elaborate and complex process, which includes base-hammering, copper-strip inlays, soldering, enamel filling, enamel firing, polishing and gilding.

Base hammering is the first step in the making of Cloisonne. The material used for the body is copper because copper is very malleable and ductile. This step requires sound judgment in the shaping and uniformity of thickness and weight. It is, in fact, much like the work of a coppersmith. The only difference is that when an article is shaped, the coppersmith's work is finished, whereas the Cloisonne craftsman's work has just begun.

The second step is filigree soldering. This step requires great care and high creativity. The artisan pastes copper strips to the body that are 1/16 of an inch in diameter and a desired length chosen by the artisan, making up a complex but complete pattern. The artisan creates a blueprint in his or her mind and makes full use of his/her experience, imagination and aesthetic perspective in setting the copper strips on the body.