Speculators are overwhelming the Oriental antique market right now, as they look for the next rare valuable treasure. The sale in England in the fall of 2010 of a ceramic vase dating C.1760 for 83 million dollars U.S., shook the Oriental antique market to it's foundation. The consequence was a dramatice reversal in values, where sellers would rather describe their merchandise as Chinese rather than Japanese.

     My goal is to help differentiate between the two, by giving you clear differences seen on cloisonne items made from 1850 to 1950. Chinese and Japanese cloisonne pieces do have many aspects in common, they often emulated each other in their export competition, and do share many traditions, culture and religious backgrounds. There are aspects of cloisonne manufacture: design, signatures, colors, motifs, finish, counter enamel, style, construction, etc. that are undisputably from one country or the other. 

     Of course exceptions always exist. A few cloisonne pieces were created to reproduce exactly the other country's style. There was a documented Japanese cloisonne company who specialized in this approach during the early 20th century. They sold Chinese cloisonne, made in Japan and were proud of it. I am not aware of any Chinese craftsmen or studio who followed this approach. Yet I'm sure there must have been some, especially when Japan's cloisonne pieces had it's most lucrative golden age from 1880-1910.

 STRICTLY CHINESE:

The Ruyie Border - Chinese Imperial Symbol 

This triple semi-circle (upside down clover leaf) with a central dot repeated into a continuous band, can be found at upper and/or mid-body of cloisonne pieces, often separating two types of motifs. It is symbolic and represents the imperial Chinese scepter.

Counter-Enamel

Counter-enamel is the enamel application on the reverse side of the decorated copper metal base. It is a strenghtening measure during the high heat of the firing in the kiln. Because the repeated process softens the base, and may would crack the design unless enameled on both side.

Chinese counter-enamel procedure uses an enamel flux that gives a smooth surface, in various shades of blue or teal, often marked or impressed CHINA after 1897, but in more recent years simply identified by a paper label that is often missing.

Gilding and Styles

     For the period of 1850 to 1950, most Chinese cloisonne decorative pieces were made with a copper base and the metal furnishings finished with gold, or gilded. The enamels used are opaque. The older examples display the practice of mixing the glass flux inside the cloison design surface, with the resulting uneven spotty coloring and pitting after firing.

     The most recent manufactured Chinese cloisonne items are very bright and smooth. The gold metal color is fresh and the surfaces are glossy and mirror like.

Finials

      I have selcted a variety of Chinese finials or lid handles designed for cloisonne pieces. Some are plain gilded brass points, others are more elaborate enameled cloisonne additions, and there are the few cast or carved figural ones, such as the foo-dog, a peach or a mythical being. 

Marks

Motifs-Types

STRICTLY JAPANESE:

Small Circle Bands

  These small round cloison bands are often filled with brick red, dark blue, white or black enamel. You can find them along the upper rims, mid-body as a divider between decorations, or along the edge of handles. The finer and smaller the circles, the higher the quality. Namikawa Yasuyuki used tiny ones, see last two pictures of small pieces of cloisonne by the master.

Metal Finish and Styles

Counter Enamels 

    Japanese counter enamel application was as varied as the style of the object itself. Depending on the piece, boxes for instance could have a two walled construction with etched metal on the inside surfaces, the base would be heavily decorated with cloisonne wires as well. Vases were finished on the base after the 20th century began as well as the inside rim, in multiple colors, sometimes a mix of what was left over from the day's work. The difference is the aspect of a bumpy surface, called 'orange skin', especially attributed to Japanese cloisonne. Bowls could have different motifs inside and out. 

Finials

     Japanese finials are always interesting, they may represent cast brass flowers such as the chrysantemum or the peony. Or they might be an elaborate cloisonne creation sometime overshadowing the lid. There are a few examples of figural ones similar to the Chinese foo dog.

Brocade-Textiles

In Japan, textiles are considered an art form, a valuable investment if created by a skillful silk kimono maker or master textile artist. Cloth, draping, cascading fabric and textures have often been a large part of the Japanese sense of aesthetic. This is firmly represented in the early cloisonne craft production of the years 1870 to 1900.

Marks

As you can see there is a wide variety of styles in the marking of Japanese cloisonne objects. These span from 1870 to 1970, most represented here were made by well known master craftsmen. Frustrating for us, many pieces are not marked and we have to rely on overall quality and design to make tentative attributions. Marks were impressed, applied cloisonne wire on enamel, hand painted on enamel,  or etched on metal bases or added metal tablet.

Imperial Symbols

Kiri No Mon: Japan's Empress symbol, which is designed as 3 paulownia leaves with 3 flowers standing, often seen with the Ho-bird (female Buddhist symbol) or the dragon (male Buddhist symbol).

Kiku No Mon: Japan's Emperor symbol, the 16 petal chrysantemum, found on master craftmen's products commissioned for the Japanese Palace household. Usually found on it's own at the neck of a vase.

December 2011

Link to archived cloisonne studies by idcloisonne.com, two studies completed per year:

• Study #1: Chinese Millefleurs Cloisonne Motif Evolution 1880-1980
• Study #2: Japanese Rectangular Boxes 1900-1980
• Study #3: Types & Functions of Cloisonne Objects 1850-1990
• Study #4: Lao Tian Li - Important Qing Dynasty & Republic Producer

http://www.idcloisonne.com/archivedcloisonnestudies/index.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Recommended books containing reference material about Oriental cloisonne, published between 1960 to 2010.

Books to learn a basic knowledge of Oriental cloisonne,

ORIENTAL CLOISONNE AND OTHER ENAMELS, by Grace and Arthur Chu

CLOISONNE AND RELATED ARTS, by W.F. Alexander

To acquire knowledge about most Oriental arts, their symbolism, culture, artistry, marks, easthetic and the many types of exports they produced over time, including cloisonne,

ORIENTAL ANTIQUES AND ART, an identification and price guide, by Mark F. Moran & Sandra Andatch, Antique Trader by Krause

ORIENTAL ANTIQUES, encyclopedia of antiques and collectables, by Gloria & Robert Mascarelli, Warman's, Wallace Homestead

To focus on Chinese cloisonne, with history, photos and collection items,

MASTERPIECES OF CHINESE ENAMEL WARE, in the National Palace Museum, Republic of China

CHINESE CLOISONNE, The Clague Collection

CHINESE CLOISONNE, The Pierre Uldry Collection

CHINESE AND JAPANESE CLOISONNE ENAMELS, by Sir James Garner

To focus on Japanese cloisonne, it's history, golden age, construction, makers, marks, styles and products,

JAPANESE CLOISONNE, by Coben & Ferster

JAPANESE CLOISONNE ENAMELS, by Gary H. Yoshino

JAPANESE CLOISONNE, by Gregory Irvine

THE ART OF JAPANESE CLOISONNE ENAMEL, by Fredric T. Schneider