The technique of applying brilliant enamel ornament to metalwork, known as cloisonné, reached its peak in China from the fourteenth century on. This sumptuously illustrated survey, which accompanies an exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center, situates these remarkable pieces in their context with a survey of the historical, political and sociological milieu in China during the period. Research recently undertaken in China and published here for the first time has resulted in the redating of a number of objects with significant implications for the overview of Chinese cloisonné production. Shapes, functions, pattern, and symbolism in cloisonné objects are all examined and explored. And the final section of the book reviews the impact of developments in China on later production in Europe, as well as the acquisition of cloisonné pieces by the major American museums and private collectors at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Susan Weber
Preface
Helene David-Weill
Introduction
Beatrice Quette
Reign Dates of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties
Selected Chinese Chronology 1260-1937
Danielle Elisseeff
Selected Chinese Classic Forms
The Emergence of Cloisonne Enamels in China
Beatrice Quette
Inscriptions and Marks
Beatrice Quette
Cloisonne Form and Decoration from the Yuan through the Qing Dynasty
Beatrice Quette
Beyond the Women’s Quarters: Meaning and Function of Cloisonne in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Pengliang Lu
A Reverence for the Past: Infliences from Chinese Antiquity
Rose Kerr
Auspicious Messages on Cloisonne Vessels
Terese Tse Bartholomew
Scholar Zhang Peeks at Yingying: Thoughts on Pictorial Aspects of Chinese Cloisonne and the Relationship with Painting
Claudia Brown
Cloisonne for the Imperial Courts
Zhang Rong
The Revival of Cloisonne Enamel in France at the End of the Nineteenth Century
Odile Nouvel-Kammerer
Early Collections and Displays of Chinese Cloisonne Enamel in Europe and the United States, 1860-1930
Susan Weber
Catalogue of the Exhibition
Beatrice Quette
Appendix
A Technical Study of Early Chinese Enamels
Isabelle Biron and Beatrice Quette
Bibliography
Index
Photographic Credits
Curator Emeritus, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Isabelle Biron
Senior Research Scientist and Research Engineer, Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musees de France, Paris
Claudia Brown
Associate Professor of Art and Director of the Center for Asian Studies, Arizona State University
Danielle Elisseeff
Professor Emeritus, L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
Rose Kerr
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Glasgow
Odile Nouvel-Kammerer
Curator of Nineteenth-Century Collections, Musee des Arts decoratifs, Paris
Pengliang Lu
PhD candidate, Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture
Béatrice Quette
Head of education at the Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris
Susan Weber
Founder and Director, Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture
Zhang Rong
Director of the Library and Archives
