What does "cloisonne" mean?

A decorative technique for metalwork, especially brass, whereby colored enamel is baked in partitions (cloisons) between raised ridges of the metal.

What is a synonym for "cloisonne"?

Common synonyms include: champleve, champleve.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A decorative technique for metalwork, especially brass, whereby colored enamel is baked in partitions (cloisons) between raised ridges of the metal. uncountable
"Cloisonne is sometimes seen as a cheaper alternative to jewelled encrustation or filigree."
2
enamelware in which colored areas are separated by thin metal strips wordnet
3
Objects decorated by this technique collectively. countable, uncountable
"The museum had a fine collection of medieval Italian cloisonne."

Adjective

1
(for metals) having areas separated by metal and filled with colored enamel and fired wordnet

"Cloisonne is sometimes seen as a cheaper alternative to jewelled encrustation or filigree."

From French cloisonné (“partitioned”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.