Yinglong Li
About Yinglong Li
As a craft practitioner and researcher, Yinglong specialises in enamelling and silversmithing. His pieces are primarily created using plique-à-jour, an old and rare enamelling technique. Yinglong’s “I-PAJ” series consists of artefacts and jewellery inspired by Manchuria windows and Impressionist paintings. Through his practice, Yinglong hopes to organically integrate Eastern and Western cultures while demonstrating the charm of plique-à-jour.
Yinglong has developed his enamel practice over 17 years. His works have been collected by the Victoria and Albert Museum and Durham University. Yinglong Li is a recent PhD graduate of the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University.
Maker Enquiry Form
Completing a piece of I-PAJ requires extensive time and patience because every delicate piece is made of traditional enamelling craft plique-à-jour. Plique-à-jour developed in Europe from the sixth century and is an extremely difficult craft to learn.
Yinglong Li’s process of making the I-PAJ series includes drawing design sketches; creating a metal framework with very thin silver wires; applying and melting different vitreous enamels; and polishing. To achieve the high finish of his works, Yinglong precisely apply the different-coloured enamels into the holes of the framework and understands each enamel’s melting time. He describes this process as “a big challenge”!
Information on commissions
All Goldsmiths’ Fair exhibitors welcome commissions. Don’t hesitate to contact this maker and start a conversation about commissioning a piece, unique to you. Examples of commissioning include transforming or combining old jewellery into new pieces, incorporating stones into new settings, or simply working together to create a bespoke piece in the style of this maker.
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