Antique Very Fine Coils Chinese top Cloisonne Box

Beautiful Antique Very Fine Coils Chinese Cloisonne Box:

This box is covered with unusually fine cloisonne work. The four sides and top .
Beautiful enamelling multi coloured scenery on brass stamp box/trinket/pill box.
Very good condition, enamel both the interior and exterior are in perfect condition.
Evidence of wear and use on its base as if it has been displayed over the years.

2" wide x 1 1/2" long 3/4" high

weight: 83 grams

"Cloisonné is the technique of creating designs on metal vessels with coloured-glass paste placed within enclosures made of copper or bronze wires, which have been bent or hammered into the desired pattern. Known as cloisons (French for “partitions”), the enclosures generally are either pasted or soldered onto the metal body. The glass paste, or enamel, is coloured with metallic oxide and painted into the contained areas of the design. The vessel is usually fired at a relatively low temperature, about 800°C. Enamels commonly shrink after firing, and the process is repeated several times to fill in the designs. Once this process is complete, the surface of the vessel is rubbed until the edges of the cloisons are visible. They are then gilded, often on the edges, in the interior, and on the base.

In much Chinese cloisonné blue is usually the predominant colour, and the Chinese name for the technique, jingtailan ("Jingtai blue ware"), refers to this top, and the Jingtai Emperor. Quality began to decline in the 19th century. Initially heavy bronze or brass bodies were used, and the wires soldered, but later much lighter copper vessels were used, and the wire glued on before firing.[19][20] The enamels compositions and the pigments change with time.

Chinese cloisonné is amongst the best known enamel cloisonné in the world.

Ref. 2418