Leseprobe

9 Begov | Weinhold | Witting paints. In comparison to fired enamel, the layers of paint adhere much more poorly to the metal surfaces. They are often largely lost or only visible through the microscope. The complexity of the issue requires not only studies in art and cultural history, but also needs to consider the particularities of the materials and manufacturing techniques used, suggesting an interdisciplinary research approach. The art historians and conserva- tors at the Grünes Gewölbe thus worked with Christoph Herm and Sylvia Hoblynfrom the Archaeometry Laboratory at Dresden’s Hochschule für Bildende Künste. At the start of their collaboration, it was necessary to decide on a common language that could be accepted by all, considering that the relevant literature had no unified terminology on the subject. The frequently used term “cold enamel” is used to distinguish from “hot” burning processes of enameling and thus implies a certain affinity in terms of appearance. And yet, the term “cold enamel” is misleading if not even contradictory, for it suggests a special enameling technique altogether different from painting. The frequently-used term “cold painting” was also rejected, since the silver objects placed in focus show the use of color on the largely three-dimensional metal foundations, but not autonomous “paintings” in Fig. 1 A page from the inventory book of the Kunstkammer, 1640 , Sächsisches Staatsarchiv, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, 10009 Kunstkammer, Sammlungen und Galerien, no. 9, fol. 367r