Cloissoné Decorative Objects
1930s Chinese Art Deco Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
1940s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Copper
20th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Copper
Mid-20th Century Japanese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
1880s Japanese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
1920s Chinese Other Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal
20th Century Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
1960s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Brass, Other
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal
1990s Italian Modern Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Metallic Thread
20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
20th Century Russian Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Silver, Enamel
1920s Chinese Qing Vintage Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Copper, Enamel
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal
20th Century Chinese Showa Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Chinoiserie Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass, Enamel
Late 19th Century French Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Marble, Multi-gemstone, Brass
20th Century Chinese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Enamel, Bronze
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
1990s Italian Modern Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal
Mid-19th Century French Chinese Export Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Crystal, Enamel, Metal, Zinc, Copper, Brass
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel, Ormolu, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Chinese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Brass
20th Century Russian Folk Art Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Silver, Enamel
1890s Japanese Chinoiserie Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
19th Century Chinese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Enamel
Late 19th Century French Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Metal, Bronze
Late 20th Century Chinese Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Multi-gemstone, Brass
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
1880s Japanese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
Late 19th Century French Japonisme Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
1870s Japanese Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Enamel
19th Century French Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Marble, Enamel, Ormolu
Early 20th Century Russian Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Silver, Enamel
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Ormolu, Enamel
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Marble, Enamel
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Onyx, Bronze
Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze, Enamel
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Enamel
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Marble, Bronze
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Cloissoné Decorative Objects
Bronze, Ormolu, Enamel
Shop Cloisonné Vases, Boxes, Table Lamps and Other Enameled Objects on 1stDibs
Liven your home with cloisonné vases, bowls, lamps and other objects and furnishings ornamented with lustrous enamel. Technically, enamel is colored glass fused to metal. But that simple description greatly understates the case. Applied using an array of techniques to a wide range of objects, it is one of the most dynamic, and alluring, mediums in the world.
No one knows for sure when or where enameling originated. But, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is widely believed that the decoration on a gold scepter found in a royal Mycenaean tomb at Kourion Kaloriziki, in Cyprus, and dating to the 11th century BC, is a true, early example of the technique.
Between the 6th and 12th centuries AD, cloisonné — in which tiny compartments (cloisons) made by soldering copper filaments to a metal surface are filled with vibrantly hued enamel — had a huge vogue in the Byzantine Empire. By the 7th century, Lombard craftsmen in northern Italy were using enamel to emulate Byzantine objects. In the 12th and 13th centuries, artisans in China imported the technique and made it so much their own that enameled objects have long been associated with Eastern aesthetics and motifs rather than Western ones.
Collectors of authentic antique Chinese furniture and decorative objects know that Ming dynasty-era cloisonné objects are particularly coveted. Although ornamentation was minimal at the time, Ming dynasty furniture often featured carved or painted details of flowers, insects, dragons, fruits and other motifs. As overseas trade expanded, techniques from the West, like cloisonné enamel painting, adorned table screens and other pieces.
Elaborately decorated Ming-era cloisonné objects and furnishings — vessels and other items featuring lots of vibrant colors and details — are likely to fetch considerable sums at auction, as Chinese cloisonné vases created during the Ming and Qing eras represent a golden age of the country’s furniture design. (Victorian cloisonné is also popular with design enthusiasts.)
Cloisonné wasn’t adopted in Japan until the 1800s. Back then, amid an era of societal and cultural shifts, a bolstered interest in art and design elevated Japanese craft traditions during the Meiji period. European styles like Japonisme appropriated Japanese design while craftsmen in places like Wales and England employed japanning, a varnishing technique that approximated the appearance of lacquer for the surfaces of furnishings.
Today, Meiji-era cloisonné vases or incense burners in good condition are of great interest to collectors of Asian art and furniture produced by the period’s Japanese cloisonné workshops.
Find cloisonné vases, table lamps, decorative bowls and other objects for sale on 1stDibs.
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