In a prior post I discussed a style of cloisonne box clasp with a mysterious flower design that, for want of a better idea, I named the "Lotus Clasp." [post since updated to reflect name change]
This just goes to show the hazards of being unfamiliar with artistic iconography from another part of the world, as an online auction recently listed one of these clasps as a "morning glory."
Duh! Of course!
It seems to be an especial favorite of Japanese artists, whose rendering seems more typically to match that of the clasp - here's an example of a set of lovely Fitz and Floyd plates featuring the morning glory motif:
Notice the little vine tendril - after wondering what that little brown worm-like thing on the cloisonne clasp could be, now I know.
The clasp typically seems to be a machine-stamped design, but here's an example featuring an actual hand-wired cloisonne box clasp:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1peQ-qjj0g4oQlPEbhmy5ukVRmd3ty5_93QCMlOL2UXN1vhRuGpdNnPtR8Gh6e-ixTr4O5DARdtGKAxCJDQD1_cL60XQJNQf-F-1T9aBEJaYBEo0bnstHqNxsIjcYvu9WsW_w-HRMmY4/s1600/BraceletBlackLozengesD.JPG) |
Sold on eBay for $15 by eBay vendor vickysdesign917, who offers many other nice things at what seem like similarly affordable prices. |
For comparison purposes, here are examples of cloisonne morning glories in Chinese and Japanese work:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1acQZr_XcpaEos6mlWB_EghC9vG01PvkrbLd-mFEzgPklvc_2GIO70WVyp3OiVwFauS3yWom8OWExZeJIJRi2130-pjukQ-dPfPajSoFV3cybnQTyLbKhXts7JRTzZ6erzbIZswlpa3A/s1600/MorningGloriesChinese.jpg) |
Chinese |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQ30z7o2fiB0tzRiOUSQ5gB4LUUX0czyv6ibaor677dU4qXZwxcQTSYhfR1CRE4qGI3i3yaBfqov0xiGrieOy_D9RHz6Rrr-zb87w75X40-xlUDVa_-Q3StmNPmcgb3rxIrzoK3KTwRY/s1600/MorningGloryCloisonne+003Blog.jpg) |
Japanese |
Could this clasp design possibly be of Japanese, rather than Chinese, inspiration?
Puzzling evidence...
Update - Chinese morning glories with JingFa clouds in a very pretty design:
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