Craft lineages · Beijing and associated enamel workshops, China
Cloisonné
Chinese cloisonné (jingtailan) is metalwork in which wires form cells on a metal body, the cells are filled with vitreous enamel, and the surface is repeatedly fired, ground and polished.
Chinese cloisonné joins metalworking and glass technology. The body, wire layout, enamel composition, firing and final metal finish contribute different evidence; the decorated surface should not be read as a printed pattern alone.
True cell walls are physical metal wires attached to the body. Enamel is packed between them, fired below the wire height, refilled, fired again and finally ground toward a continuous surface. Small pits or variations can record that sequence, but are not by themselves proof of place or date.
Examine the rim, base, joins, exposed metal and transitions between wire and enamel. Resin-filled or printed objects may imitate the colour arrangement while lacking the fired glass-and-wire construction.