Champlevé

Article summary

12th century armlet, somewhat damaged, so showing the cast recesses for the enamel Champlevé is an enamelling technique in the decorative arts, or an object made by that process, in which troughs or cells are carved, etched, die struck, or cast into the surface of a metal object, and filled with vitreous enamel. The piece is then fired until the enamel fuses, and when cooled, the surface of the object is polished. The uncarved portions of the original surface remain visible as a frame for the enamel designs; typically, they are gilded in medieval work. The name comes from the French for "raised field", "field" meaning background, though the technique in practice lowers the area to be enamelled rather than raising the rest of the surface. The technique has been used since ancient times, though it is no longer among the most commonly used enamelling techniques. Champlevé is suited to the covering of relatively large areas, and figurative images, although it was first prominently used in Celtic art for geometric designs. In Romanesque art, its potential was fully used, decorating caskets, plaques, and vessels, in Limoges enamel and that from other centres. Champlevé is distinguished from the technique of cloisonné enamel in which the troughs are created by soldering flat metal strips to the surface of the object.…

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