a. (sb.). [Fr. f. prec.] Divided into compartments: applied to enamels. Also short for cloisonné enamel, and attrib.
Cloisonné enamels are made by forming the outlines of figures with thin plates set on edge upon a foundation plaque. These form compartments in which the variously colored enamels are put in the state of powder, and by which they are retained and prevented from running together when melted in the furnace. When the compartments are excavated in the substance of the foundation plaque itself the enamel is called champlevé, i.e., field-raised.
1863. Gentl. Mag., Dec., 671. Almost every archæologist of any standing can remember the day when every cloisonné and champlèvé enamel was classed under the head of Byzantine.
1884. Pall Mall Gaz., 11 Sept., 5/1. The chefs-d’œuvre of embroidery, lacquer, metal work, and cloisonné.
