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Cloisonne

Cloisonné first developed in the jewellery of the ancient Near East, typically in very small pieces such as rings, with thin wire forming the cloisons. In the jewellery of ancient Egypt, including the pectoral jewels of the Pharaohs, thicker strips form the cloisons, which remain small. In Egypt gemstones and enamel-like materials sometimes called “glass-paste” were both used. The Byzantines perfected a unique form of cloisonné icons. Byzantine enamel spread to surrounding cultures and a particular type, often known as garnet cloisonné is widely found in the Migration Period art of the “barbarian” peoples of Europe, who used gemstones, especially red garnets, as well as glass and enamel, with small thick-walled cloisons. Red garnets and gold made an attractive contrast of colours, and for Christians the garnet was a symbol of Christ. This type is now thought to have originated in the Late Antique Eastern Roman Empire and to have initially reached the Migration peoples as diplomatic gifts of objects probably made in Constantinople, then copied by their own goldsmiths. Glass-paste cloisonné was made in the same periods with similar results – compare the gold Anglo-Saxon fitting with garnets (right) and the Visigothic brooch with glass-paste in the gallery. Thick ribbons of gold were soldered to the base of the sunken area to be decorated to make the compartments, before adding the stones or paste. Sometimes compartments filled with the different materials of cut stones or glass and enamel are mixed to ornament the same object, as in the Sutton Hoo purse-lid. In the Byzantine world the technique was developed into the thin-wire style suitable only for enamel described below, which was imitated in Europe from about Carolingian period onwards. Reference: Wikipedia

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A pair of cloisonné enamel tripod incense burners and covers, ding Qianlong
Posted inAntiques Cloisonne Metalware Butterflies

Chinese Cloisonne

Chinese Cloisonne Butterflies. Cloisonne reached China in the 13–14th centuries; the first written reference is in a book of 1388, where it is called "Dashi ware". No Chinese pieces clearly…
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Cloisonne enamel vase decorated with butterflies.
Posted inAntiques Cloisonne Metalware Butterflies

Japanese Cloisonne Butterflies

Japanese cloisonne. Cloisonné enamels in Japan had traditionally been used only as small areas of decoration on architecture and on sword fittings. Around 1833 a former samurai, Kaji Tsunekichi of…
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Posted inAntiques, Cloisonne, Metalware Butterflies
Cloisonne butterfly dish
Posted inAntiques Cloisonne Metalware Butterflies

Cloisonne Butterflies

Cloisonne butterflies. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, and inlays of cut gemstones, glass and other materials were also…
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Posted inAntiques, Cloisonne, Metalware Butterflies

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