A discerning collector of Chinese cloisonne recently acquired two rare treasures – pattern booklets published by the Beijing Enamel Factory in 1960 and 1975. Permission was granted to post short videos and pictures here.
The Beijing Enamel Factory was organized in 1956, following
some prior years as an experimental workshop that gathered together surviving
cloisonne artists and dedicated young art students determined to revive
cloisonne as a Chinese art form.
The 1960 booklet reflects their efforts to revitalize
cloisonne, showing designs based upon traditional lucky symbols, scholar’s
objects, and classic Mustard Seed Garden-style naturalistic depictions of
flowers and birds instead of the repetitive stereotyped designs of the
1930s-40s. The booklet designs can be
matched to the better works of the early 20th century, when the old
masters recruited by the experimental factory had learned their trade.
Fifteen years later, in 1975, designs had changed
dramatically to less birds-and-flowers and instead to original compositions
based upon current events and archaic motifs such as the Taotie mask,
accompanied by elaborate frieze and background diaper motifs, and worked upon
larger and more sculptural bases.
These booklets seem invaluable for dating the production decades of post-1950 Chinese cloisonne.
[NOTE: Clicking on any photo will open it for an enlarged view. An enlarged view can also then be opened in a new tab for even greater magnification.]
