Blue Cloisonné Two Handled Vessel. 8 3/4 inches tall, 7 1/2 inches wide, and 6 1/4 inches deep.The Chinese expression for cloisonné, Jingtai lan (‘Jingtai blue’), was first used by authors writing in the last quarter of the 19th century. At first it referred to the filigreed enamel objects made for imperial use during the reign of the Ming dynasty Jingtai emperor (1450–56). The term has survived to the present day, but its meaning now extends to Chinese bronze-bodied filigree enamels of all periods.Cloisonné is a compound craft of metalwork and enameling. In Chinese cloisonné, designs in threads of bronze are first welded on to a smithed bronze body. The partitions, or cloisons, thus created are filled in with enamels of various colours. The object is then fired, burnished until the edges of the sections are visible and level with the enamel and leafed with gold. The enamels incorporate the following raw materials: quartz, clay, feldspar, borax, lead and saltpetre, with the addition of metal ores to determine colour. The raw ingredients are pulverized, smelted and after cooling are again ground into powder, ready for use.Similar to the technique of cloisonné is that of champlevé,- with the difference that in the latter the raised part of the pattern—the champlevé (‘raised field’)—is formed by chiselling out sections from the metal body or is achieved through casting. The areas created are then filled with coloured enamels and the object fired. The technique requires a rather thick metal base. Champlevé ware was very popular during the late Ming and Qing periods, when the process was used especially for Buddhist bronze sculptures and for incense burners. A typical example is a pair of Qing-period silver vases in the shape of ancient bronze vessels, decorated in champlevé blue enamel, which would have been used on a Buddhist altar.