In Beijing, most hotel shops and tourist stores sell cloisonné articles, which can be as big as sacrificial utensils, screens, tables and chairs, or as small as chopsticks, earrings, candy boxes, toothpicks and smoking paraphernalia. They are works of art with a practical value. Recently, handicraftsmen have developed a multi-coloring technique to make cloisonné , which has resulted in more refined and gorgeous products.

** The process

As one of the famous arts and crafts of Beijing, cloisonné is a form of famous traditional enamelware with a history of over 500 years. The making of cloisonné 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 cloisonné. 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 cloisonné 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.

The third step is applying color, which is known as enamel filling. The color is like the glaze on ceramics and is called "enamel". Its basic elements are boric acid, saltpeter and alkaline. Due to the differences in the added minerals, the colors differ accordingly. Usually, iron will turn gray; uranium, yellow; chromium, green; zinc, white; bronze, blue; and gold or iodine, red. The colors are ground into powder and deposited into the cells separated by filigree.

The fourth step is enamel firing, which is achieved by putting the article with its enamel filling into a kiln. Soon after, the copper body turns red, but after firing, the enamel in the little compartments will sag slightly, which will require re-filling. This process will go on repeatedly until the little cells are full.

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