decalcomania

American  

[dih-kal-kuh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh] / dɪˌkæl kəˈmeɪ ni ə, -ˈmeɪn yə /

noun

1. the art or process of transferring pictures or designs from specially prepared paper to wood, metal, glass, etc.

2. decal.

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decalcomania British  

/ dɪˌkælkəˈmeɪnɪə /

noun

1. the art or process of transferring a design from prepared paper onto another surface, such as china, glass or paper

2. a design so transferred

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Etymology

Origin of decalcomania

1860–65; < French décalcomanie, equivalent to décalc- (representing décalquer to transfer a tracing of, equivalent to dé- de- + calquer to trace) + -o- -o- + -manie -mania

Example Sentences

According to Rivera, a favorite technique was decalcomania, in which wet ink or paint is spread on sheets and pressed together; others show off Fini’s drawing prowess.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2021

Some unexpected cases included workers exposed to “freight car seals; coffin ‘trim’; decalcomania papers for pottery decoration; polishing cut glass; brass founding; wrapping cigars in so-called tinfoil, which is really lead.”

From Scientific American • Oct. 23, 2019

The brightly colored abstract paintings shimmer with layers of paint applied using a variety of complex techniques including decalcomania, in which organic patterns are transferred from paper to canvas.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2016

Looking upon hands and feet – let alone faces – so distorted by disease that they appear mineralised, I was reminded of Max Ernst's use of decalcomania to create strange and post-human landscapes.

From The Guardian • Jun. 2, 2014

Some of them, you will observe, are filling in designs that have either first been printed, or transferred by the decalcomania process, and must afterward be finished by hand.

From The Story of Porcelain by Bassett, Sara Ware

Related Words

• emblem