Posted 5 years ago
IOWCollector
(1 item)
Just wondered if anyone can help me date this lovely little box. I think it must be Japanese and made of copper& bronze as it’s heavy for its size. The wires are twisted to form the pattern and filled partly with enamel. It’s well made and the top fits tightly. Everything leads me to thinking 1920s when we were all mad for Asian looking decorative items, but I’m probably wrong????. Any info would be very much appreciated. Lisa - Isle of Wight
You have most of the information about this fine open work Japanese cloisonne box, there is documentation about these and they were exported during early 20th century.
I had several pieces in this style, a large charger, a bottle vase and a small basket. A Japanese American man and a collector in California published his own substantial book about his collection and the types of cloisonne he studied.
His name was Gary Yoshino, he was the first to show these types of pieces in his publication.
He also created a collectors group and published a monthly newsletter with contributions from several members including me about 10 years ago. If you want to know anything else, let me know. :-)
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/superb-reference-book-title-japanese-1781105212
Thank you so much for your comment and the link to the reference book. I was confused about the age as I hadn’t seen open work before, just the traditional cloisonné method, with the entire surface of the piece enamelled. I wondered perhaps if they were more mass produced maybe in the 50s and only part enamelled for speed. However, it felt like a quality piece and was worn and dirty as you would expect for an early 1920s box. It has a wash of gold to the surface, but where it’s worn on the base looks copper. Maybe, a heavy metal similar to antimony boxes?
Thank you so much, very kind of you to share your knowledge.
Youre welcome, this is a rarer type of cloisonne, so this collector book helped a lot of people learn about this one. It was hand made with a kiln to set the enamels, the base is copper with a gold wash. Before that bronze was used for a more mellow patina.
Again, thank you so much. I love cloisonné, the artists were so skilled creating tiny complex patterns. I’m delighted this super website exists, bringing specialists and novice collectors together. Hopefully I’ll have the knowledge to help identify a mystery in the future!