Antique Chinese Cloisonne Red Hinged Trinket Floral Box Scalloped Feet

  

This is a unique, antique polychrome Chinese Cloisonné hinged box. One can tell that attention to detail was important to the artisan who handcrafted this piece. Each of the 5 walls has a different flower with its own unique leaf pattern: chrysanthemum, lotus, peony, lily, and hydrangea. The flowers and their leaves have been seamlessly extended across the 4 lower walls and climb up to the side of the lid.

A t-fret diaper motif encompassing the entire exterior of 5 walls has been created against an opaque brick red enamel ground. The interior, as well as the underside, have been enamelled in Jingtai peacock blue.

There are no visible markings as to the provenance. All the borders of the box have been gilted.

What makes this collectible unique are its sculpted bracket feet. Most other trinket boxes from the same period have round feet. Piece, however, has been made with bronze and are elegantly sculpted with a scalloped bracket design.

Each one has a soft scroll enamelled in black. Although the lid sits securely on its brass hinges, it is slightly loose and requires tightening. There is a slight dent on the top surface of the box, but this is barely visible unless felt with fingers. The bronze under the lid is visible where there was once enamel. Curiously, when we were trying to research the historical background of similar Cloisonne boxes, we observed that other merchants commented about the same dent in roughly the same place.

Some pitting is apparent in different parts of the box. Gilding seems to behave worn off in some places due to age. The flowers on the 5 panels are highly symbolic in Chinese philosophy: the lotus, chrysanthemum, peony and orchid. The Significance of the Color Red in Chinese Symbolism.

Red represents fire and is the most popular color in China. It is also the national color representing happiness, beauty, vitality, good luck, success and good fortune. Red is famously popular in relation to anything Chinese and is widely used during festivals and important events like weddings. Source: Lucky Colors in China: Color Meanings, Unlucky Colors.

Enamel artisans have refined this technique over many centuries. The process involved creating an outline of a design or partitions (cloisons in French) by soldering brass wires onto metal surfaces of either brass or copper. Enamel colouring, including ground precious stones, was then melted, cooled, solidified, and lastly made into a powder made into a paste. Once the enamel paste was set onto the copper surface, it was sent to the kiln for firing and solidifying.

After the enamel cooled, it contracted and more enamel would be added to the remaining open spaces. This process would be repeated several more times. Towards the end of the process, the enamel and the soldered brass wires would be given a smooth finishing in order to blend the wires together with the enamel. Finally, the remaining brass wires, top and bottom rim of the finished piece would be gilded.

Material: Bronze, brass, enamel on bronze, gilt. Dimensions: 3 in (L) x 5 in (W) x 3 in (D) (approximately).