Pair of Vintage Chinese Champlevé Enamel Vases on Stand with Floral Motifs

$575

About

Decorate a mantel with this colorful pair of baluster vases; created in China circa 1980, each vase sits on a carved ebonized wood stand and features floral motifs in the cloisonné technique (decorative work in which enamel, glass, or gemstones are separated by strips of flattened wire placed edgeways on a metal backing). The urn shaped vases are further embellished by a brass trim at the base and the top rim. The flower vessels are in excellent condition with rich colors in the cobalt blue and gold palette. In antiquity, the cloisonné or champlevé technique was mostly used for jewelry and small fittings for clothes, weapons or similar small objects decorated with geometric or schematic designs, with thick cloisonné walls. In the Byzantine Empire techniques using thinner wires were developed to allow more pictorial images to be produced, mostly used for religious images and jewelry, and by then always using enamel. By the 14th century this enamel technique had spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and cloisonné enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century. Measures: 5.5″ diameter 11.5″ height. (including base).

Additional information