Very large vintage cloisonne beads, light blue with pink flowers, 20mm
Though the word is French, cloisonné refers to a form of decorative art usually associated with China or Japan.
In cloisonné, copper wire is glued or soldered to a metal surface to create tiny compartments, or cloisons, that are then filled with ground glass blended with metallic oxides to produce colorful enamels then fired. The glass shrinks as it melts so this process has to be repeated several times.
After the enameling phase, the copper wires are gilded, and the object is polished until perfectly smooth to the touch.
On this website I distinguish between vintage cloisonné which is made as described above and Enamel which is a similar process, but with less detail and fine finishing
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