496 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



which are to make the whole enamel decoration, is then placed 

 in the same as upon copper. The contour of these cloisons is 

 sketched beforehand with Indian ink. F'or fastening the thick 

 pasty glue made from the bulbs of Bletia hyacinthina is used, but 

 no solder or R6. When the cement is dry the cells are filled 

 with the pulpy enamel colours, as in other cases. In this case 

 also the single air-dried colours are not fused separately, but all 

 at one time, and practice and experience have shown how to 

 prepare the mixtures by a number of different fluxes, so that the 

 fusing of all becomes possible in the same degree of heat. On 

 account of the shrinkage of the enamel in burning and the escape 

 of air bubbles, cracks, holes and hollows appear, which must be 

 filled up. Then follows a second burning, then the first polishing, 

 another filling up, and a third burning, to which often a fourth is 

 added. 



In Awata-yaki polychromatic painting is combined in a very 

 effective manner with the decoration by means of many-coloured 

 cell enamel. Those parts of the article which are destined for the 

 latter form sharply defined medallions of various figure and size, 

 which lie usually about one millimeter below the surface. This 

 kind of decoration is copied on the copper basin seen in Plate 

 XXIV., but changed as required by the composition of the ground- 

 work. We see there a medallion which is surrounded or framed 

 in by a large, thick-walled brass cell, and filled with white enamel. 

 The decorator has then applied green and blue muffle colours and 

 gold to the coloured picture on this enamelled groundwork, and 

 the whole has been burned in. Here too the application of the 

 enamel must have preceded the ornamentation of the medallion 

 with the paeony and flying butterfly. 



Nagoya was not only the first to develop the cell enamel on 

 copper, but some twenty years ago was in advance of Kioto in 

 transferring the process to crockery. Porcelain vases from Seto 

 were here decorated in another peculiar way which is known as 

 Nuri-shippo or Shippo-urushi. It is a peculiar form of ornament- 

 ing clay-wares by lacquer painting. A net of brass cells is placed 

 on the surface, the same as in Toki-shippo, but the cement used is 

 not Biyaku-gu, but rather a mixture of paste with Seshime-urushi. 

 Instead of enamel colours for filling the cells, the well-known 

 groundwork materials of lacquer work are used, a paste made of 

 Tonoko and water ; and then the Sabi or Tonoko is mixed with 

 Seshime. When dry, the article is polished with sandstone, the 

 Omura-do, and then receives a coating of Seshime and Ro-iro- 

 urushi as the final process of the groundwork. The further deco- 

 ration and treatment answers entirely to that of the lacquering 

 of other articles. Naturally the polishing must be continued each 

 time till the brass cells appear on the surface, which excludes 

 the employment of raised lacquer work. 



A free enamel painting is also employed in Japan with the best 



