BASSE-TAILLE

(French: "low-cut"), an enameling technique in which a metal surface, usually gold or silver, is engraved or carved in low relief and then covered with translucent vitreous enamel. This technique dramatizes the play of light and shade over the low-cut design and also gives the object a brilliance of tone. Developed in Italy in the 13th century, basse-taille enamelwork was especially popular in Europe during the Gothic and Renaissance periods.