Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/358

 Neither is it possible to determine with any accuracy the time when the art of enamel decoration began to be practised in Japan. Among the relics of the Nara Court preserved in the Shōsō-in there is a mirror having on its back a floral design executed in cloisonné enamel. The inclusion of this mirror in the Sbōsō-in treasures shows that it dates from a period certainly not later than the eighth century, but connoisseurs are not agreed in regarding it as Japanese workmanship. The cloisons, or metal ribbons framing the limbs of the designs, are of gold; the colours of the enamels are blue, yellow, green, and brown, and the edges of the cloisons project above the paste, indicating that the surface of the work was not ground down, or polished, after firing.

A few words have to be inserted here about the technique of enamel decoration. The object to be decorated having been fashioned in thin copper—sometimes in gold or silver—is handed to the enameller, or to a draughtsman, who traces on it with Indian-ink a facsimile of the design to be executed. The next step is to make the cloisons and fix them in position. This is one of the most delicate parts of the work. A narrow ribbon of copper or gold is cut into sections of various lengths, and these having been curved into the required form, are soldered to the surface of the object so that the design is ultimately outlined by a thin wall, following every line exactly and enclosing the space to be decorated. The various enamel pastes are then packed into the parts within this wall, and the vessel, having been placed in the oven, is subjected to heat sufficient to vitrify the pastes without affecting the metals forming the base and the cloisons. It will of course be