Puzzling Evidence - Two Necklaces

Nick at his Etsy shop, Magic Dragons Store, had an interesting necklace:

Most of the beads appear to be pre-WWII – delicate carved bone and fruit pit beads in the style used for Mandarin court necklaces, carved nut beads with a reddish patina, faux Japanese ojime beads in some sort of pressed composition. 

One of the carved canarium nut lohans is accompanied by a dragon, the other by a lion or qilin.

As to the ivory beads with scrimshaw dragons, and the large silver filigree bead with enameled bats, I have no knowledge that would allow me to make a guess as to their age.

 

Another necklace of the same design showed up in an auction. 

The similarity in design to Nick's necklace is obvious.

A pair of beads is missing in this necklace; presumably the delicate carved bone beads, which had become dry and fragile with age and broke.  The large black and white cloisonné bead in the center is typical of other cloisonné small wares from pre-WWII, and seems consistent with the style of other Deco-era Chinese cloisonne beads.

One of the cloisonne beads appears to have been made by The Dot Artist.

If the other beads on these necklaces date to before WWII, perhaps some of the cloisonné beads do as well?  

Could they perhaps be as old as from the 1910-1920 decades, when cloisonné masters turned loose from the imperial workshops were still working around Peking? 

Or were these beads actually made during the 1950-1960 period between the founding of the People’s Republic and the 1971 ending of the U.S. trade embargo for imports from the Republic of China?  Or are they a mix of older and newer beads?  They do seem to share motifs common on other cloisonne items from the 1950s, such as this bowl:

Owner states,"This cloisonne bowl was purchased in Hong Kong in the mid 1950s by an uncle of mine."
Discussed in a thread at the AsianArt.com Forum

Is the good craftsmanship of these cloisonne beads evidence that they were made for Chinese consumers, not for export?

As to the overall design of the macrame necklaces, the existence of a pair seems to indicate either a designer or an atelier converting strands or collections of matched beads into these necklaces in order to highlight the individual beads.  Perhaps the beads were sourced from curio shops in Hong Kong, London, and/or San Francisco?  The use of the stamped morning glory clasp seems to indicate assembly during the 1970s or later.  

Do you think it’s a typical 1970s design, or 1920s?  Are there other examples of this design out there?  It looks quite dramatic when worn – my mannequin models it for you. 

Here’s another necklace assemblage of older Chinese and Japanese beads.  Note:

•  the disk-shaped phoenix bead with the squared holes, such as appears in belts that seem to be from the 1930s and Japanese obidome.
• an oval cloisonné lotus bead identical to a pair in one of the macramé necklaces

Puzzling Evidence - The Dragon of Lao Tian Li 老天利, continued

Ebay vendor silvercreations613  recently sold a fine example of one of Lao Tian Li's dragons - see previous post on this topic here.  (Photos posted with permission)

Puzzling Evidence - Arts of Asia Magazine 1985 and Kuo Ming-chiao Cloisonne of Taiwan

The September-October 1985 issue of Arts of Asia magazine features a 4-page article by Ursula Roberts on the cloisonné atelier of Kuo Ming-Chiao, father of Robert Kuo.  For collectors of Kuo cloisonné, this Arts of Asia issue seems to me a must-have for its biographical information and photos of Kuo Ming-chiao and his work.

Ten photos accompany the article, including five showing workshop artisans in the process of lathe-turning copper pieces, applying the cloison wires, filling with enamel, firing, and polishing. 

Two large color photos display pieces with flowing lotus and butterfly designs on a uniquely Kuo rose background, and a distinctive Kuo swirl design. Similar pieces are shown below:

Note the use of twisted wire, a feature sometimes found on Japanese cloisonné pieces such as this small white vase.

The inside back cover features some spectacular modern red/black/gold pieces under the trademark of the Robert Kuo Ltd. Gallery. 

The article explains the distinctiveness of Kuo enamels and designs: 

Wanting to develop his own colors, he designed a special kiln to fire the enamel pigments, and he studied chemistry so as to acquire the knowledge that would help him introduce an improved enamelling process.  Today he uses over 3600 glazes in different shades.  “Kuo colours” are unique, the technical process being a closely guarded secret; using transparent as well as opaque colours he can create cloisonné works that are akin to contemporary painting…

One of the advantages of collecting Kuo cloisonné is that affordable small pieces and beads can still be found in online auction sites.  The Arts of Asia article confirms this:

“moreover, his factory produces useful objects such as paperweights and letter openers as well as purely decorative pieces.”  

Courtesy of eBay vendor benbeiswanger.  Note how the brocade pattern of this boxed set matches the brocade for Kuo boxed bead sets demonstrating the cloisonne process.

Cloisonne beads from Taiwan

The Arts of Asia article's photo of the polishing process shows a bowl of similar wide bangles alongside the artisan.

Miriam Haskell Jewelry and Chinese Cloisonne Dragon Beads

eBay vendor eastwooddenver found a splendid example of a branch coral and cloisonne necklace likely to be from the Miriam Haskell studio in the late 1930s - early 1940s.

My Miriam Haskell Mystery post from last November features a bracelet  and two brooches that match this necklace design.

Close inspection of the cloisonne dragon beads seems to delmonstrate the work of two different artisans, showing:

1) White and black eyes, five toes, and evenly applied scales

2) Black eyes, four toes, rather sloppy application of the scales

Another post is in the works about the mysterious artisan who put only four toes on his dragons.

Puzzling Evidence - The Dragon of Lao Tian Li 老天利, continued

Ebay vendor bigpelican has on offer a fine example of one of Lao Tian Li's dragons - see previous post on this topic here.  (Photos posted with permission)

Note the liveliness of the dragon and the detail in its rendering.

Fine detail in the feet, and background clouds of notable neatness and precision.

Signature engraving - I don't know what the FI inside the diamond signifies.  The characters, of course, read from right to left - "Lao Tian Li Made."

What does all this have to do with beads?  To be continued...

Puzzling Evidence - Some Lingering Questions About Cloisonne from Taiwan

Two renowned cloisonné artists from Taiwan are Kuo Ming-chiao (1917-2014) and his son, Robert Kuo.

Kuo Ming-chiao spent the first part of his artistic career as a painter and instructor.  He recounts how he became fascinated by cloisonné in this 1990 Taiwan Today interview:

Kuo Ming-chiao has dedicated himself to the creation of cloisonne art for 30 years. He began his artistic career, however, as a painter, and his works were internationally exhibited and acclaimed as masterpieces of Chinese painting. He received many awards, including those presented in Vietnam, Australia and the United States.

 His painting career came to an abrupt and unexpected halt in a moment's inspiration which changed his artistic path. While travelling in Europe to attend an exhibition of his paintings in
1960, he had what he described as an "electrifying experience." In a marketplace near Cologne, West Germany, he was overwhelmed by the splendor of the cloisonne art on display. He abandoned his plans to continue his continental tour, choosing instead to remain in the small German town to learn the art of cloisonne.

Robert Kuo’s online biography tells how he spent over a decade, from his teenage years to his late 20s, working in his father’s atelier to learn the process of cloisonné manufacture.

Cloisonne with the distinctive Kuo look shows up in many objects – vases, bowls, plates, coasters, napkin rings, salt and pepper sets, desk sets, buttons, bangles, bracelets, beads, paperweights, snuff bottles…

What puzzles me is how this was all accomplished.  Certainly there had to be other artisans in the factory besides Kuo senior and son – people to manufacture the brass shapes, produce the cloison wire, apply the designs, manage the sourcing and stocking of the enamels and polishing grits, supervise the kiln, manage work flow and ensure proper work station furnishing, machines, and tools, etc. etc.  Cloisonne is a very labor-intensive process requiring practice and skill.

If one developed a sudden interest in cloisonné manufacture, surely the most effective way to start production would be to either take over the management of an existing atelier, or at least commission special work by them?  Why reinvent the wheel?  Were the resulting designs a coordinated effort between traditional artisans and Kuo artistic innovation? 

As is well known, Taiwan became the country of refuge for mainland Chinese who fled the Communist party victorious in the civil war.  Wikipedia relates:

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China with its capital at Beiping, which was renamed Beijing. Chiang Kai-shek and approximately 2 million Nationalist Chinese retreated from mainland China to the island of Taiwan in December…

Note the date Oct 1, 1949.  On eBay I found this little cloisonné egg box, with its original label intact. 

Unfortunately I am illiterate in Chinese, but the numbers “49 11 1” made me wonder if they represent the date of November 1, 1949, and if there was any connection between the migration of Nationalists to Taiwan and the founding of the cloisonné factory that produced this egg (instead of, say, commemorative of a birthday or holiday or something).  The style of cloisonné – transparent cobalt enamel, mixed rose and transparent enamels in the flowers and butterflies, small circles as background fill – is not at all like mainland work.  Is this an actual Kuo design, a Kuo-style copy, or an example of a general Taiwanese cloisonné style that developed after 1949 by artisans fleeing the mainland?

At least one cloisonné artisan liked to use a semicircle of wire loops to represent vegetation or foliage – you can trace this motif from the small bottle pendant through this Kuo cloisonné egg.  

Overall, these designs depart from decades-long stereotypes produced by other Chinese workshops, as if the artist were following his/her own vision to represent traditional Chinese themes. 

Ruyi motif on pre-WWII vase, on JingFa vase post-1956, and Yun Kang vase from Taiwan.  Note the completely different neck and collar wire motifs in the Taiwan vase.

Note the granite-like counter enamel on the base, and the splashy enamel application that is also seen in Taiwan cloisonne link bracelets.

Then there is the mysterious Yun Kang factory.  

Vase pictures by eBay vendor gnsales1075

Pieces display all the characteristics of Kuo cloisonné, with a distinctive granite-like counter enamel (counter enamel is applied to the reverse sides of the metal form to provide equal tension against the decorative surface enamels, so that the metal is not warped as the glassy enamel contracts during melting and cooling).  Is this a predecessor to the Kuo label?

Evidence such as this Mementos and Artifacts blog account dates the small Kuo-style vases and condiment sets to the late 1970s.

Jar inscription on base reads "Taipei Taiwan 1975."  Note similarity of Ruyi-style collar motifs in Jar and vase.  

Vase on left courtesy of eBay vendor gottoget123.  These vases all have a Kuo logo on the base. The viewer will no doubt have already noticed their similarity to the Yun Kang vase pictured above.

The various Kuo trademarks appear throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Later cloisonné pieces by Robert Kuo became more abstract, larger, and architecturally imposing - pieces of sculpture rather than decorative bric-a-brac.

During the 1990s, as mainland China’s economy became more export-oriented and rural populations flocked to urban factory jobs, a large proportion of Taiwan factories of all varieties moved their production facilities to the mainland.  It is hard not to draw a parallel between this account from Taiwan Review of a glass factory and the trajectory of the Kuo cloisonné atelier:

Since starting work in his teens at this factory, which his father established in 1960, Hsu—who is now in his 70s—has seen the rise and fall of the local industry. He recalls that in the 1970s and 1980s, business was so good that the factory was backordered for a year. But like most other labor-intensive industries in Taiwan, glassware manufacturing lost its competitive edge as land and labor costs increased. “Factories either moved elsewhere or closed down,” Hsu says, recalling that there were still about 3,000 craftsmen working in 50 glass factories in the Zhunan area 10 years ago, but that the numbers have declined to around 100 workers and a handful of factories now. In fact, Kuo Tai has also cut the number of its employees from 60 to 15 and once considered moving to mainland China. 

Finally, what to make of items like these?  Are they the last gasp, so to speak, produced in the final days of a factory staffed by artisans on the verge of retirement and with production declining and outsourced elsewhere?

UPDATE: More puzzling evidence -

Yun Kang or Kuo style small plate.  Notice style of enamels and counter enamels, heart-like motifs at the rim.

Another Yun Kang or Kuo style plate.

Unusual 13" lamp that appears to be composed of two small vases soldered atop one another.  Note the similarity in enamel and motifs to the plates above.  Courtesy of eBay vendor chris638brad.

UPDATE: A 1985 Arts of Asia magazine article on Kuo Ming-chiao answers many of my questions above.

UPDATE: A 5-page chapter, with photos, about the Kuo cloisonne factory appears in the 1977 book Cloisonné Extraordinaire by W. F. Alexander and Donald K. Gerber:

"A comparative newcomer to cloisonné manufacture is Taiwan.  The factory in the beautiful country side near Taipei has been in operation since 1972.  The most noteworthy thing about Taiwan cloisonné us that they have not copied any motifs of any kind.  Even the borders are different."

UPDATE: Some mysterious cloisonné egg jars:

Small cloisonne egg jars with enamels and motifs similar to Taiwan cloisonne items.  eBay seller relates purchasing them in Shanghai in the 1960s, was permitted to be in China at that time because not of U.S. nationality.