Large basket in cloisonné, China

Colourful round basket in cloisonné with flowers and bird on blue ground. Very decorative.

Size: diam 39cm – H 12 cm

China, first part of the 20th century.

Lit: A decorative handicraft technique for working enamel, in which thin strips of metal are welded into a pattern on a metal surface. The resulting compartments called partitions are filled with coloured enamel and then fired. The technique probably developed in the Middle East in Byzantine art and was exported to Europe and Asia. Cloisonné vases and brooches were made in Europe in the Middle Ages, but the technique was improved in Japan and China in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.