Cloisonne, Antique Collectible, Round Beads, 24K Gold Plates Base with Multi-Color Designs, 20mm, Sold Individually
SKU: ASP-106
Sale price
$15.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
34 in stock
Description
- These beads are priced and sold individually
- Antique cloisonne 24K gold plated base with multi-color designs, 20mm diameter
- Each one is meticulous work of art, each one unique
- These are some of the beads that came from a collection Pat bought from a DC Chinatown dealer who was retiring. These are the best of the lot.
- Though the word is French, cloisonné refers to a form of decorative art usually associated with China or Japan. It has been applied to boxes, vases, and beads.
- The second image shows the laborious steps use for making these beads
- The technique was widely used in China during the Ming (1368-1644) and Ching Dynasties (1644-1912).
- To make cloisonné beads, copper wire is soldered to the bead's raw copper surface to create tiny compartments, or cloisons. These are then filled with ground glass blended with metallic oxides to produce colorful enamels, then fired. The glass shrinks as it melts so this process has to be repeated several times, sometimes with additional colors blended in.
- After the enameling phase, the copper wires are gilded, and the object is polished multiple times with finer abrasives until perfectly smooth to the touch.
- On this website I distinguish between vintage cloisonné which is made as described above and Enamel which is a similar process, but with fewer steps and less fine finishing