Chinese Cloisonne & Gilt Vase Decorated with Taotie Motifs

This vase of baluster-form and resting on a splayed foot is of enamelled and gilded copper.

The sides are decorated with six elongated taotie masks. The shoulder is decorated with more stylised masks as is the neck.

The masks hark back to the Warring States period. The fashion for the re-use of such archaic emblems was ignited by the Qianlong Emperor who called for inspiration to be sought from antiquity

Cloisonné is a centuries-old technique for decorating metalwork objects that was first used in China. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French) to the metal object by soldering or adhering metal wires or thin strips placed on their edges. The compartments were then filled powdered enamel or coloured glass that when fired in a kiln melt and fuse forming fields of colour which are kept separate by the soldered metal wires or strips.

The base is unmarked. There are no obvious losses to the enamel.