Overglaze Painting
Special technique of painting on top of glaze on porcelain
Overglaze painting is a method of applying paints to porcelain or ceramic items that have already been fired and covered with glaze. The enamels are applied over the glaze, after which the object is returned to the kiln to fix the design at a temperature lower than the main firing. This approach allows artists to achieve exceptional brightness and fineness of colors, as well as details: unprecedented reflections, fine lines, and complex work with gold or platinum.
This technique was extremely popular in European and Chinese manufactories of the 18th-19th centuries. Fun fact: craftsmen often hid microscopic signatures or hidden symbols in the curls of the decoration — they are sometimes discovered only centuries later.