The Art Of Crafting Precious Objects In Silver With Enamel Inlay

There are many things of beauty created and craftedRussian Silver and Enamel alcohol bottle is a perfect
by the Russian artists of the past including the mostexample of the profoundly detailed beauty of inlay
precious items like the antique Russian silver andenamel. The delicately applied designs are attractive to
enamel alcohol bottles. Like all Russian silver andthe eyes with an artistically hand-crafted design of
enamel exquisitely hand-crafted by the Russian artists,value and meaning.
these too have been done with the purest of silver aThe artistic works of enamel inlay starts by one of
most delicate of brightly colored traditional inlaidseveral techniques known specifically to enamel its
designs, like the Star of David.self. Enamel is made from certain ingredients that are
There are several different standards of silver that theformed into cakes or lumps. They are then finely
Russian artists worked with for creating the silver andground into a delicate form of powder. It is then
enamel alcohol bottles, and the numerous other formscombined with oil or water. The final step is one of the
of antique Russian wares of silver. Within thesemany ways in the applications of hand craftsmanship.
different levels of silvers, there includes fine silver andThere are several enamel inlay techniques that include
sterling silver. The true nature of silver is quite soft, sothe Champleve Technique, the Cloisonné
there is often an alloy of other metals such as copperTechnique, the Basse-Taille Technique, and the
to strengthen the silver for creating these works of artPique-a-Jour Technique that all create pleasing artistic
for its beauty and for its usefulness too. For the mostbeauty. There is Encrusted Enamel and Painted
popular known alloy combination, there is the 92.5Enamel for the artist to work with. The encrusted
percent of silver and 7.5 percent of copper thatmethod is to spread white pastes of enamel over the
creates what is known as Sterling Silver. Thissurface, but the painted enamel is and oil powder
formation of silver is also known as '925 Sterling Silver',enamel mixture that is applied, heated by being fired.
and this will be the markings to identify items made ofThe crafting is all done by hand so the products are
Sterling Silver.valuable unlike the machine made mass production.
There are many techniques of Russian artistic worksEach object carries the quality of an heirloom and
with the vividly colored inlay enamel arts. The antiqueprices go up as years pass.