Champlevé Enamel Bronze Inkstand

This Napoleon III French champlevé bronze inkstand is formed as a neoclassical urn mounted on a bronze tazza. The champlevé enamel in blue and white with the bronze coming through giving the appearance of gilding.

Cloisonné and champlevé are both beautiful enamelwork techniques involving vitreous enamel glass powders being positioned on metal pieces to make detailed designs. The two techniques are like dimensional versions of a paint-by-number. Both create areas where the powder can be contained to make up the design.

Cloisonné involves a fine metal wire being soldered onto a metal piece to create “cloissons” or partitions. The enamel powers are added between the lines and the piece is fired to melt the glass to fill the space. This might need to happen multiple times until the piece is flat.

Champlevé starts life as a single piece of metal that is carved, stamped or cast to create depressions that can be filled with enamel powder. After it’s fired, the piece is buffed and polished to create a smooth surface.