DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORLD HISTORY OF ENAMELMAKING: FROM THE ORIGIN OF ENAMEL TECHNOLOGY TO THE OLD RUS’ ENAMELS

Abstract

The article deals with the peculiarities and interaction of design and technology at different stages of the world history of enamel art. The origins and prototypes of enamel art and their stepwise development from pre-enamel technologies in the enamel art are revealed. The stepwise development of various technological and visual techniques in hot jewellery enamel in historical retrospect is traced and emphasised. The art history analysis of hot enamelling studies in different countries and regions reveals the main points of enamelling development. The gradual development, influence and borrowing of different techniques, regional and technological peculiarities are underlined. The dependence of technological methods and possibilities of design relevant to different historical periods is revealed; an attempt to decipher the formulation of artistic tasks of the masters of the past is made. The authors show the long experience of working out various technological methods and the necessity of preserving and direct transfer of skills from the master craftspeople to their apprentices. Conclusions are made about the stepwise long-term development of hot-jewelled enamel technologies and the direct dependence of the artistic component on technological innovations, as well as the necessity to directly study all possibilities and properties of enamel worked out in the past.