Deals with two separate case studies of chronologically distinct ancient materials: European glass enamel inlays and beads of the 4th to 1st centuries BC, and Chinese metal and ceramic enamels of the 17th and 18th centuries AD. The chemical analyses of these two groups of material throw light on two very different technical and archaeological questions. For the European glasses and enamels, the problems concern the relationship of chemical composition to archaeological context. For the Chinese material the analyses explore a possible influence of Chinese cloisonné enamels technology on the decoration of Chinese porcelains of the early 18th century.