INCHASING, or CHASING, the art of enriching and beautifying gold, silver, and other metal-work, by some design or figures represented thereon in low relief.

Enchasing is practised only on hollow thin works, as watch-cases, cane-heads, tweezer cases, or the like. It is performed by punching or driving out the metal, to form a figure, from within-side, so as to stand out prominent from the plane or surface of the metal. In order to this, they provide a number of fine steel blocks, or punchons, of divers sizes; and the design being drawn on the surface of the metal, they apply the inside upon the heads or tops of these blocks, directly under the lines or parts of the figures; then, with a fine hammer, striking on the metal, sustained by the block, the metal yields, and the block makes an indentation or cavity on the inside, corresponding to which there is a prominence on the outside, which is to stand for that part of the figure.

Thus the workmen proceeds to chafe and finish all the parts by successive application of the block and hammer to the several parts of the design. And it is wonderful to consider with what beauty and justness, by this simple piece of mechanism, the artists in this kind will represent foliage, grotesques, animals, histories, &c.