Superb Fairy-wren text page

Superb Fairy-wren - Malurus cyaneus

A DESIGN FOR CLOISONNÉ BY NICOLAS K.J. DAY
ILLUSTRATOR OF “THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA”, and ALLAN B. HEYWOOD.
999 SILVER CLOISONNÉ, REPOUSSÉ AND CAMIEU ENAMEL PANEL
130mm X 180mm X 10 swg COPPER BASE

The panel was cut from 10 gauge copper, and utilises the cloisonne and repousse techniques with the enamel being applied by a combination of wet inlay and dusting. To commence, various opaque enamels were applied to the front of the copper base and high-fired. Next, a heavy layer of counter-enamel was applied to the back and the piece was again fired. Initial background details were applied at this stage in camieu, a technique involving the build-up of various enamel colours prior to firing. In this adapation of that traditional technique the buildup is exaggerated and the raised areas collapse upon themselves in the molten condition, giving a raised, slightly three-dimensional appearance.

The resulting face surface was ground flat. The wren was formed from 0.2 x 1mm 999 fine silver wire, laid out upon the face and wet inlaid with various enamels in the traditional cloisonné technique. Some preparatory branch detail was built up at this stage to a height of about 2mm above the face (in the previously-described modification of the traditional camieu technique) and the piece refired.

The Imperial White butterfly, Delias harpalyce, (drawn from a specimen caught in the front garden in Skipton) was cut from 999 fine silver sheet, embossed and engraved in the repousse fashion, laid out in position, enamelled, and fired into the surface under a layer of transparent glasses. The fired surface was lapped and the operations repeated to a total of 11 firings, with details of shading, anatomy, and perspective being refined after each firing until the effect was satisfactory. The piece was reground between visits to the kiln.

The surface of the finished panel was hand-lapped optically flat with graded diamond hones, machine-polished to a mirror finish, and framed.


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