Enameling

Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C (1,380 and 1,560 °F). The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable coating on metal, or on glass or ceramics.

The term "enamel" is most often restricted to work on metal, which is the subject of this article. Enamelled glass is also called "painted". Fired enamelware is an integrated layered composite of glass and metal.

The word enamel comes from the Old High German word smelzan (to smelt) via the Old French esmail, or from a Latin word smaltum, first found in a 9th-century life of Leo IV. Used as a noun, "an enamel" is usually a small decorative object coated with enamel.

Enamelling is an old and widely adopted technology, for most of its history mainly used in jewelry and decorative art.

Since the 19th century the term applies also to industrial materials and many metal consumer objects, such as some cooking vessels, dishwashers, laundry machines, sinks, and tubs. ("Enamelled" and "enamelling" are the preferred spellings in British English, while "enameled" and "enameling" are preferred in American English.)

Ancient Persians used this method for colouring and ornamenting the surface of metals by fusing over it brilliant colours that are decorated in an intricate design and called it Meenakari.

Mina is the feminine form of Minoo in Persian, meaning heaven. Mina refers to the Azure color of heaven. The Iranian craftsmen of Sasanian Empire era invented this art and Mongols spread it to India and other countries. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to stone objects, pottery, and sometimes jewellery, though to the last less often than in other ancient Middle Eastern cultures.

The ancient Greeks, Celts, Georgians, and Chinese also used enamel on metal objects.

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