A style of enamel decoration in which the enamel is applied by filling out hollowed out parts of a design in metal, with pulverized vitreous colored enamels. The raised metal lines between the cut-out areas form the design outline and are typically of slightly various thickness.
Champlevé is from the french words for 'raised field' and is referring to that with this technique the base plane is the surface from which material have been removed to create depressions to be filled with enamel powder, as opposed to similar products where borders - cloisonnés - have been added onto a surface which has thus become raised.
See also: Cloisonné
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