Friday, April 8, 2016

Puzzling Evidence - Louis C. Mark, Rice-Weiner, and the Mysterious Qun Li Mark 群力

A prior post discussed a mysterious mark that appears on costume jewelry pieces featuring Chinese cloisonne beads.  These pieces seem to be attributable to Louis Mark, a designer popular in the 1940s.

More examples turned up recently on the internet:

Dragon egg brooch from eBay vendor ling805.
The above pieces feature nice Deco-era Chinese cloisonne beads. Both pieces have been given a gold finish, which I think makes them a bit more attractive than unplated pot metal. 

And a fabulous example, with intact gilding and a beautiful dragon bead, can be found at Morning Glory Antiques & Jewelry [scroll down through the Morning Glory Collects gallery to see the brooch, which is in a personal collection and not for sale] - 


Prior posts on this style of Cloisonne bead can be found here:

Louis C. Mark, Rice-Weiner, and the Mysterious Qun Li Mark 群力

Chinese Beads from the Art Deco Era

Chinese Cloisonne Dragon Beads from the 1930s-1990s

Miriam Haskell Jewelry and Chinese Cloisonne Dragon Beads

The Miriam Haskell Mystery