Art Nouveau Plique á Jour Cicada Wing Pendant

Large 2.5" long "plique á jour" cicada wing dangles from a hand-painted sterling silver heart bail. The wing is one-of-a-kind. This work is painstakingly hand "pliqued" using vitreous enamel within each wing cell. Materials used are brass, sterling silver and vitreous enamel in opalescent white (Thomas Enamels #2061). 100% handmade by Jeni Fairman.

Plique-à-jour (French for "letting in daylight") is a vitreous enamelling technique. Enamel is applied in cells with no backing in the final product. Light shines through the transparent or translucent enamel. It is in effect a kind of miniature stained glass that can be worn. It is considered technically challenging because of the amount of time it takes to produce, the attention to detail and technique by the artist. This technique relies solely on the surface tension. Glass granules are suspended in water within very small areas of the design.