Technique of painting over enamel resembles painting over porcelain. Thin copper plate, each side of which is covered by layer of enamel, is used as basis for this kind of painting. Plate is burned several times while it is covered by heat-resistant enamels paints. Colour of paints changes, as well as when porcelain is burned.

The art of metal products decoration by enamel attained perfection in Russia in XVI - XVII centuries. Painted enamel decorated table-ware, utensils, weapons, church plates.

Traditional technology of finift is quite original. Slightly convex plates of different forms and sizes are stamped from thin copper sheet, which is up to 1.5 mm thick (copper and gold adopt enamel best of all). Then, carefully cleared surface of plates is covered by plain enamel mass.

When enamel is primed, it is burned in muffle furnaces at temperature of 750 ?C. The fullest flower of enamel painting dates to XVIII century. Snuff-boxes, small cases, lockets, honours were decorated by enamel painting in Petersburg, Moscow and Rostov. Rostov artists were mainly engaged in painting of icons, insertions to the church books and utensils. In XIX century they are already not limited to sacred images, but copy masterpieces of Russian and west-european painters and create original compositions.

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