Chinese Snuff Bottle Discussion Forum 中國鼻煙壺討論論壇

Champleve is another method of working in cloisonne. Done by cutting away troughs or cells with fine chisels or other engraving tools. Leaving raised lines between the cloisons that serve as boundaries in the design. Pulverized enamel is laid in its proper places in the design and the procedure of repeated firing, filling, and polishing follows. Just as with cloisonne work.

Below is a gilt metal enameled bottle with turquoise, cobalt, and deep red enamels. It was the only snuff bottle example I could find. Hard to see the detail of the chisseling.. I happen to have a champleve vase that gives a little better idea of what the chisseled cells/troughs look like..

I think that champleve may be a bit rare as snuff bottles go .. I did find one other much nicer quality example from the Crane collection..  (http://www.thecranecollection.com/the-collection/enamel/enamel-on-metal/?tx_ttproducts_pi1%5BbackPID%5D=76&tx_ttproducts_pi1%5Bproduct%5D=685&cHash=f29d3b4a67)

(https://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1226.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee408%2Fbottlesandstone%2FChampleve1.jpg&hash=0890d0ffe239133d374ccf73cac0ac8a) (https://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1226.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee408%2Fbottlesandstone%2FChampleve2.jpg&hash=bde027905af302fd6abaa7690a4c2f9a)

(https://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1226.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee408%2Fbottlesandstone%2F002-10.jpg&hash=557451244599987e5383d4e8021178b2)

   Sorry George, but the examples you posted, at least the first one, anyway, looks like cloissonne but where they've not filled in the surrounding background colour.  I saw a genuine old Champleve enamel bottle from Neal and Frances Hunter's collection, Laguna Hills, CA (old collectors with an old collection - they'd been collecting from the 1940s or 1950s!).
  The bottle had a thick body and a design had been gouged out and filled with enamel. Relatively simple (flowers on stems with leaves), but the metal surface, while shallowly etched (scribed?), was the same level as the enamel, pretty much. On the example(s) you posted, the enamel is quite a bit higher than the surrounding surface.
Joey

Found this old post while browsing....
 
There is considerable confusion in snuff bottle books and catalogues between 'cloisonné' and 'champlevé'. The different appellations refer to the method used to create the 'cells' for receiving coloured enamel. Cloisonné involves soldering wire 'fences' onto a plain metal surface to form compartments, while champlevé lowers the the areas to be filled with enamel by carving away recessed troughs.

Joey is right in the sense that most (but not all) champlevé work leaves the rest of the surface untouched, so as to end up flush with the enamel fill.

In fact both methods can have sunken areas that are left unfilled. With cloisonné it is simply a question of not filling those compartments with enamel. With champlevé it involves gouging out additional troughs (often finely stippled), and so it is a more laborious process.

Tom

 

Tom L.,
    That is interesting. Thank you for the additional information. I did not know that detail on Champleve enamels. I have never owned a champleve enamel snuff bottle, and only remember seeing that of the Hunters. I must have seen more, but can't recall a single other example, in 43 years.
Shabbat Shalom,
     Joey 

Joey,

You are most welcome. Champleve snuff bottles must be exceedingly rare. I have never handled one in my life, or even seen one 'live'. So you are one up on me.  :D

All best,

....and here is how cloisonné is made.
Giovanni

Well done, Giovanni! (The illustration; the vases themselves seem quite crudely done, actually)  :D
Joey

Sorry dear Joey, the pictures was actually two. Here they are

Dear Giovanni,
   Once you posted the  photo with all the steps, the first one is not needed. And the end result is actually quite good quality, too.
Thank you,
Joey

Yes dear Joey,
the second picture is to better show the soldered wires.
Kind regards
Giovanni
 

Thank you both, Tom and Giovanni !

Dear Giovanni,
    I went back to look at both, and see your point, though I was able to discern the cloison wires in the first example of the longer line of steps. Of course, I knew what I was looking for, so your way is better for student collectors.
Thank you,
Joey

Dear Giovanni,

Thanks for the pictures. Very interesting to see the stages, step by step.

I have read about Champleve much more than I've seen "examples" of Champleve. Even the few examples I can find look more like Cloisonne with areas left unfilled. And so I found this bottle, and it looked like what I have been reading about. The enamel filled areas are gouged out, not made with wire, and the areas surrounding the enamel have been gouged out and have fine stippling.

So I'm interested to hear what others think about it. Could this be Champleve?

(https://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flashprodesign.com%2Fimages%2Fchampleve.jpg&hash=435ea61409bed2dd441bbf6b92c941e5)

Cathy,

Sorry to say, but I would not call this a champleve bottle.  It appears simply to be a raised enamel painted on a copper body to give it an effect of something like champleve or cloisonné without the effort.  The link provided below is what I would consider to be the actual process of creating a champleve piece.  Champleve requires a thicker metal base or body which can be more easily done on larger vessels or on flat metal surfaces as shown in the video, but would be very difficult to perform on a small bottle. 
 
Play video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55BuiTVp7o

Charll

Thanks Charll! Wonderful video

Thanks from me as well Charll, especially as it lead on to some lacquer videos.

Strangely my father and I were discussing cloisonné/champleve a few days ago in terms of how they differ so lovely to see it happening.

Hi Cathy. Good to see you posting.

Regards, Adrian.

Ditto... :)

Yes, great video Charll. And thanks Cathy for bringing up this topic.
Looks like a real champlevé snuff bottle is about as rare as rocking-horse s**t....  ;)

Tom

Dear Charll,

    A really interesting video. Do you know if the artist sells his work, and if so, where?
Best,
Joey

Joey,

I have no other information than the video link.  It is just a good educational item that showed how some of the early champleve work was done; in this case a box from the 1100's.   

Charll

Dear Charll,

I really enjoyed the video clip. Thanks.

Inn Bok

Dear Charll,

      Thank you anyway. The source of the design was a box (small coffer) from the 12th C. (1100s), but the artisan
made a modern copy.
Best,
Joey