| Original Message: Champleve |
|---|
|
The mystery to me is where the champleve versions of this bead were produced, as they were definitely exported to the US for use in costume jewelry - brooches and belts. What I wonder is if they were reproduced as copies of the cloisonne dragon/phoenix beads that evidence seems to indicate were made during the 1920s - 1930s in China. The head of the phoenix resembles a ruffled chicken; it has the requisite sloe eye, but lacks the long beak and crest. Enamel colors and the use of openwork champleve on some of the versions seems entirely Chinese, which seems to rule out US manufacture. How they got mixed in with the cloisonne version of this design is a mystery. There was a Chinese factory that produced rather nice champleve pieces during the 1950s-70s, often selling pieces under the Peking Jewelry Company name, and bearing a base stamp of GuYiZhaiCang. Unknown if they were in any way connected to the producers of the 1930s beads. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
|
|