A STUDY ON THE ENAMEL LAVA OF MORTELÈQUE AND HACHETTE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLYCHROME ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

Current studies on the polychrome architecture in nineteenth century France tend to overlook the activities of the manufacturers who had made large contributions to the progress of enamel ornaments. This study tries to reveal the caracteristic of enamel lava invented and developed by the manufacuturers Morteleque and Hachette who collaborated with the architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff, ardent agitator of the theory of architectural polychromy. Analysis of this technic shows that the enamel lava had a high durability due to the porousness of the lava which prompted Hittorff to apply it to the exterior ornaments.