| Original Message: Grapes pendant dates to a purchase in Hawaii circa 1980. |
|---|
|
According to the seller, when queried. The grapes design is an old-fashioned design not common in later Chinese cloisonne beads and pendants - usually one sees what appears to be a branch of blossoms, such as this doughnut pendant with sprays of flowers coming from the rock garden. This particular grapes motif appears often on cloisonne pieces from the 1920s-30s, so presumably was taught by one of the older artists to the the younger designers/workers at the Beijing Enamel Company. Grapes as a Chinese cloisonne motif go all the way back to the Ming dynasty. I recollect a comment from a cloisonne collector that one of the tip-offs as to whether a piece was Chinese or a Japanese imitation of Chinese design was that no Chinese artist would ever feature plants without a rock or garden base. That does seem to be generally true. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
|
|