Antique jewelry glossary

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Swiss enamelling

A technique of decorating by enamelling with a neutral colour over a gold panel to form a base (fond) and firing the piece, then painting a picture in colour on the matt enamel surface and refiring, and finally applying a transparent glaze. Examples are found on 19th-century plaques decorated with pictures of native girls wearing typical cantonal peasant attire.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson