The Tang Dynasty or the Tang Empire was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by…
Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fused to a ceramic body through firing. Glaze can serve to color, decorate or waterproof…
Copper Butterflies. Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form (native metals). This led to very early human use in…
Lalique Butterflies. Lalique is a French glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and…
Child & Child was a London based jewellery, gold and silversmith firm operating from 1880-1916. Established by brothers Walter (1840-1930) and Harold (1848-1915), Child & Child became well known for…
Nephrite Jade Butterflies. Nephrite consists of a microcrystalline interlocking fibrous matrix of the calcium, magnesium-iron rich amphibole mineral series tremolite (calcium-magnesium)-ferroactinolite (calcium-magnesium-iron). The middle member of this series with an…
Chinese Cloisonne Butterflies. Cloisonne reached China in the 13–14th centuries; the first written reference is in a book of 1388, where it is called "Dashi ware". No Chinese pieces clearly…
Adonis Blue Butterflies. The Adonis blue (Lysandra bellargus, also known as Polyommatus bellargus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic ecozone (Western Europe, Central…
Ormolu / Gilt Bronze is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold–mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. The mercury is…
Enamel Butterflies. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to stone objects, pottery, and sometimes jewelry, although to the last less often than in contemporaneous cultures in the Near East. The ancient…