Table Box Art Deco Black and White Enamel Salimbeni

Table Box Art Deco Rectangular table box with rounded corners in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with Art Deco style design on the lid with rays on two corners and black and white fired enamel.Table Box Art Deco measures 7.8 x 9.4 x 3.5 cm. Weight gr. 230. Designed by Giorgio Salimbeni in 1973.

Table Box Art Deco produced in the Salimbeni factory with manual processing by skilled artisan artists with a thick plate and large reinforcements suitable for supporting numerous high-fire enamel firings at around 800° C.

On enamelling There are around 700 different colors of enamel, but in practice usage today is limited to around two hundred. However, the layering of different colors allows for an almost infinite range of combinations and shades that can degrade, even on the same object, the darker shades to the lighter ones, and vice versa. The object you want to create, which can then be covered with enamel, must be constructed with considerable attention to detail in relation to the subsequent application of the powdered glass. Assuming that it is made of silver, it is necessary to make sure that the plates are thick enough to resist the “firing” of the enamel at a high temperature not too far from the melting point of the silver. The fineness of the metal must also be chosen depending on the type of enamel to be applied, because some colors have taken on a different color depending on the greater or lesser quantity of alloy contained in the metal. The welds must also be such as to prevent the deformation of the object exposed to the temperature of repeated firings for the liquefaction of the different colors of the enamel. Finally, the larger the object and the surface to be covered, the greater the effort and attention required to ensure that there are no distortions and depressions in the treated slabs. The surfaces to be coated must be surrounded by a slightly inclined step, which can contain the liquid enamel. Typically, the sheet is hollowed out to create usable space, while other times a fillet weld is performed around the sheet to be enameled. The hand-engraved pieces which reproduce landscapes, architecture and paintings from the Renaissance period are especially beautiful. Finally, before moving on to the enamel phase, each object must be cleaned with brushes and pickling acids with particular attention because, especially when working with silver, not all metal oxide enamels are compatible with silver oxide, for which it is necessary to eliminate it completely or at least with extreme care to avoid direct contact with the metal of certain colors, interposing a layer of transparent enamel. Another very effective technique is that of “en ronde bosse” enamel, suitable for application on all-round enamelled surfaces, such as figurines, eggs, etc. This technique is particularly difficult and delicate because the vitreous part is still fluid, for example high temperature, it must be adhered to non-planar surfaces, and great skill and attention is required to ensure that it does not drip downwards, or solidify to different thicknesses, giving rise to unwanted color shades.