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Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads
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Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
12/05/2021, 16:08:22

Recent auction, 43" necklace of 76 beads went for $360 + 22% buyer's premium = $440. Adding another $50 for pickup and shipping, equals about $6.50 per bead.

Guessing the bidders believe them to be silver, not silver plate? I have a bagful of unused similar beads made with twisted wires acquired c2000 at one of the Tucson shows, and their surface wires do test as silver with test fluid. The enamels appear to be the translucent colors typically used for silver.

Thoughts, anyone?

SilverEnamel_LA_115869758.JPG (160.9 KB)  


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No photo present (!).
Re: Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Beadman Post Reply
12/08/2021, 14:01:29



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Here's a link to the auction
Re: No photo present (!). -- Beadman Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
12/11/2021, 10:16:10

Not sure why the image I posted isn't showing for you, but here's a link to the auction if you want to check it out. I was pleased that these pretty beads sold for a nice price, although the uniform design of the necklace is boring and lessens the attractiveness of the beads.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/115869758_chinese-export-cloisonne-enamel-beaded-necklace



Modified by beadiste at Sat, Dec 11, 2021, 10:17:40

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when was those Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads made¡H
Re: Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: redmountain Post Reply
12/11/2021, 11:47:42

long time no see
Thanks



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Maybe 1970s-80s?
Re: when was those Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads made¡H -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
12/11/2021, 13:56:50

Hi RM, so nice to hear from you again! I was thinking about you the other day, wondering how you were doing.

I have a necklace of similar enameled beads with a clasp that says "Hobe," a famous costume jewelry manufacturer. My notes on this type of clasp say that it was patented by the Miriam Haskell workshop, so I did a search and found this information:

"A new clasp was introduced in 1975, the slide clasp, which was a flat oblong shape with the patent number 3,427,691 on one side and the Haskell signature in block capitals on the other. This clasp was discontiued in the mid eighties."

Looking at the close-up pictures, it was interesting to see the difference in the size of the twist of the wires, from very fine to coarse.
I think these beads are not as nice as the ones from the auction, which perhaps were made a bit earlier in the 1970s, before factory production became intensified once the U.S. embargo for imports from China was lifted in 1972?

TwistedWireHobeBCN.jpg (247.3 KB)  TwistedWiredHobe)BCN.jpg (226.9 KB)  


Modified by beadiste at Sat, Dec 11, 2021, 14:00:53

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As usual—good investigation and information!
Re: Maybe 1970s-80s? -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Beadman Post Reply
12/12/2021, 12:21:57



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RM, would you be interested in a little cloisonne beads research project in Beijing?
Re: when was those Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads made¡H -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
12/15/2021, 09:52:39

Two people to interview?



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Re: RM, would you be interested in a little cloisonne beads research project in Beijing?
Re: RM, would you be interested in a little cloisonne beads research project in Beijing? -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: redmountain Post Reply
12/31/2021, 07:37:49

Yes What is that¡H



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Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory
Re: Re: RM, would you be interested in a little cloisonne beads research project in Beijing? -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/02/2022, 19:25:54

Last fall Rosanna and I worked on an article for the Bead Forum about the Beijing Enamel Factory and the development of cloisonne beads.

Basically, cloisonne beads started out being made by old artists brought into the new factory in the late 1950s. At first, the beads were complex - the artists treated each small bead like a small bottle or vase, and used the designs they had learned in their work prior to 1949.

After trade resumed in the 1970s, beads changed to a very simplified standard floral design that production line workers with minimal wireworking skill could manage.

What I would love to know is,
1) Who were the old wireworkers with sufficient skill to manage complex designs on small beads?
2) Who convinced the factory management that beads would sell for high enough prices to be worth manufacturing? Was it the women, such as Qian Meihua and Chang Shana?

Some of the important cloisonne artists who were alive during the 1950s and 60s are now dead - Jin Shiquan and Qian Meihua. Chang Shana is in her 90s. The others are very old, and Zhang Tonglu has suffered a stroke. Once these people are gone, there will be no one left able to answer questions.

https://www.360kuai.com/pc/952ece319a21988a2?cota=3&kuai_so=1&sign=360_7bc3b157

http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/en/features/txt/2014-11/04/content_649326_2.htm

Brochure_PeopleBCN.jpg (254.4 KB)  MastersBCN.jpg (198.1 KB)  


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Li Xinmin has written books about cloisonne, but will he agree to speak with you?
Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/02/2022, 19:41:44

I have both of these, but because I'm illiterate in Chinese, have to use awkward OCR systems to translate them.

Beijing Arts and Crafts Books: Blue King described a dream: Selected Works of Li Xinmin Cloisonne(Chinese Edition)
LI JING
ISBN 10: 7514000925 / ISBN 13: 9787514000924
Published by Beijing arts and Crafts Press, 2011

Cloisonne Intangible Cultural Heritage Books(Chinese Edition)
LI CANG YAN // LI XIN MIN
Book Description: Language:Chinese.Pages Number: 180 Publisher: Beijing Pub. Date :2010-05-01 version 1 2010-05-01 1st printing. cloisonne Arts and Crafts series of editing and publishing. from a theoretical. cultural. images and other non-point of view of Beijing Arts and Crafts Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection established a pattern. By Li Cang Yan. Li Xinmin. compiled the cloisonne through the Beijing Arts and Crafts of origin. and various historical periods manifestations. artistic. art processes pro.
ISBN: 9787200080209
Binding: Soft cover

BookLiXinmin_works.jpg (209.1 KB)  BookLiXinmin.jpg (254.4 KB)  


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Pictures from Li Ximin book
Re: Li Xinmin has written books about cloisonne, but will he agree to speak with you? -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/02/2022, 19:47:06

He is one of the most innovative of cloisonne artists.

BookLiXinmin_pictures.jpg (226.9 KB)  


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Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory
Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: redmountain Post Reply
01/04/2022, 07:02:24

Hi Beadiste
I know the questions.
who do you think should I contact or interview ?
I am planning to visit Beijing enamel factory myself which is not far from where I live



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Chang Shana
Re: Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 10:03:47

RM - please accept my apology for a delayed response, due to bad local weather disasters I have been without cable internet access for the past 10 days.

Chang Shana might be the person best to interview, if you are able to contact such a famous old person. She was an associate of Qian Meihua, and like Meihua, was also inspired by Lin Huiyin in the revival of Chinese arts and crafts.

I suspect the current staff at the Beijing Enamel Factory are too young to have experienced the revival of cloisonne during the 1950s and how the factory navigated the changing fashion scene after the Cultural Revolution ended and Deng Xiaopeng's economic reforms.

Zhang Tonglu and his wife were important factory staff during these 1950s-80s years, however, and if he is allowing interviews he might be able to provide insight as to which old artisans were making elaborate beads such as in this necklace, and why - were they for sale to rich Chinese ladies in Hong Kong, perhaps?

The second picture, of a simpler necklace design that still displays the design work of an older more skilled wirework craftsman, was purchased by a U.S. woman on a China tour in 1979.

http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/en/features/txt/2014-11/04/content_649326.htm

1_ChineseCloisonneNecklaceBCN.jpg (245.5 KB)  1_1979Beads.jpg (246.1 KB)  

Related link: http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/en/features/txt/2014-11/04/content_649326.htm

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Chang Shana in group of women fashion designers in 1950s China
Re: Chang Shana -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/14/2022, 13:14:38

...
The forum marked the proximate launch of the dress reform campaign, but in the preceding months the press had carried a number of article on associated matter, including cotton rationing, the class nature of clothes, and what Chinese women should wear.
...

The core group of designers consisted entirely of women. They included well-known artists such as . . . Chang Shana (b. 1931), who was the daughter of the artist Chang Hongshu and like him a student of the Dunhuang frescoes. . .

pages 208-211 in Changing Clothes in China: Fashion, History, Nation by Antonia Finnane

http://cup.columbia.edu/book/changing-clothes-in-china/9780231512732

BookFinnane.jpg (57.5 KB)  

Related link: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/changing-clothes-in-china/9780231512732
Modified by beadiste at Sat, Jan 15, 2022, 12:46:42

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Ornament beads vs necklace beads
Re: Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:31:10

RM, this set of 24 30mm ornament beads shares motifs with the beads in necklaces - for example, the red-crowned crane, and the red vase.

The style of the clouds and the knowledge of how to draw traditional lucky emblems indicates these designs were the work of an older artist, trained before 1949. The new wire workers hired in the 1970s would not have had the skill to reproduce these tiny designs.

The "Four Gentlemen" bead is particularly beautiful, I think.

For comparison, the small dish and salt and pepper condiment pieces seem to date to around the 1930s?

SAM_0783BCN.jpg (226.8 KB)  SAM_0787BCN.jpg (213.8 KB)  


Modified by beadiste at Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 12:43:02

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Four Gentlemen bead and friends
Re: Ornament beads vs necklace beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:32:25

Lotus, Bat, and Millefleur patterns on the other beads

SAM_0802BCN.jpg (248.7 KB)  SAM_0803BCN.jpg (238.4 KB)  


Modified by beadiste at Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 12:44:05

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Re: Four Gentlemen bead and friends
Re: Four Gentlemen bead and friends -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:33:24

SAM_0804BN.jpg (241.7 KB)  SAM_0805BCN.jpg (244.7 KB)  


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Re: Four Gentlemen bead and friends
Re: Four Gentlemen bead and friends -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:38:10

SAM_0806BCN.jpg (248.0 KB)  SAM_0807BCN.jpg (245.5 KB)  


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Crane and Vase motifs on ornament beads that match necklace beads
Re: Ornament beads vs necklace beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:42:04

SAM_0809BCN.jpg (234.0 KB)  SAM_0822BCN.jpg (245.3 KB)  


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Red vase with floral spray on bottle likely from late 19th century
Re: Ornament beads vs necklace beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/15/2022, 09:10:37

This bottle also features bats, peaches, Buddha hand citron, the 8 Treasures of Buddhism around the collar and of course the magpies and plum blossoms.

That's why I think an older artist, who was aware of all these traditional motifs and knew how to draw them, was responsible for the more elaborate bead designs.

RedVase_AndyBerryf_FB_Jan_2022.jpg (191.3 KB)  


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Zhang Tonglu
Re: Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 12:52:13

张同禄 Is probably the only old master from the Beijing Enamel Factory still alive, other than Huo Tiehui 霍铁辉

I believe he established a separate workshop when the Beijing Enamel Factory went bankrupt in the early 2000s and was reorganized.



Modified by beadiste at Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 12:53:56

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Show pictures?
Re: Re: Asking some old masters of the Beijing Enamel Factory -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/13/2022, 18:40:06

I wonder if you showed the pictures of these beads if any of the older artists would recognize the style of the work and know who made them?



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Re: Show pictures?
Re: Show pictures? -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: redmountain Post Reply
01/14/2022, 21:01:46

Hi Beadiste
nice collection and very informative posts!
I find that I am totally ignorant about Jingtailan!
I haven¡¦t been here for some time and there¡¦s no opportunity to use English in my daily life
So I feel very much awkward dealing with English as getting older all the vocabulary and grammar made me mad
It may take some time for me to get contact with the people you mentioned and it couldn¡¦t be guaranteed that I am successful with that
Please understand that

I am a travel person and I once thought about traveling to Alaska
the feeling is amazing that there is a friend with whom you have talked alot but never met
I wish someday I could see you in Beijing

Best wishes
R.M.

By the way I have seen your only nut carving bead. Thanks for your respond. it¡¦s an olive sead (in Chinese). The very interesting thing for me is the scholar was stepping on snow and looking forward to Meihua one of the four gentlemen rather than a tiger.:))



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Thank you for corresponding
Re: Re: Show pictures? -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/15/2022, 12:31:06

I understand your frustration with English translation. I have the same difficulty with Chinese, and must rely upon Google Translate, which is often puzzling.

Does this reverse translation of the post about Chang Shana make sense?

¡È1955 ǯ 4 ·î¡¤Í³领ÀèŪ时»ö杂»Ö¡Ô¿·观»¡¼Ô¡Õ¡ÊXin guancha¡Ë组织Ū°ì¼¡论坛¡¤汇½¸Î»¼çÍ×Ū艺术¹ÔÀ¯¿Í员¡¤讨论Ãæ¹ñÉþ饰̤Íè²ÄǽŪ发ŸÊý¸þ¡£该论坛ͳ记¼ÔϾ®说ºî²È³ë阳¡Êb . 1916)¡¤时Ǥ¡Ô¿·观»¡²È¡Õ¼ç编¡¤她ŪÉû¼ç编¡¢Æ±时ÂåŪ艺术²ÈвÊö»²Í¿Â¶Ã桤ÖõÈïǤ̿为该³è动Ū负责¿Í¡£
...
该论坛标»ÖÃåÃåÁõ²þ³×运动¨¾­启动¡¤Ã¢ºß过µîŪÑÜФ·îΤ¡¤ÇÞÂÎÖá经发ɽλ°ìº³Áê关Ūʸ¾Ï¡¤Êñ³çÌɲÖÇÛ给¡¢ÉþÁõŪ阶级À­质°ÊµÚÃæ¹ñ½÷À­应该Àü½º么¡£
...
设计师Ū³Ë¿´·²Âδ°Á´Í³½÷À­组À®¡£Â¾们Êñ³çÃø̾Ū艺术²È¡¤Ç¡. . .¾ïèµÕ±¡ÊÀ¸Ð²1931ǯ¡Ë¡¤²è²È¾ï红树Ç·½÷¡¤Í¿Â¾°ì样À§ÆØßêÊɲèŪ³ØÀ¸¡£ . .

208-211页ºßÃæ¹ñ换°áÉþ¡§时¾°¡¤历»Ë¡¤¹ñ²È°Â东Æô亚çîÆî

http://cup.columbia.edu/book/chang-clothes-in-china/9780231512732



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BCN posts turn characters into garbage - here's a picture instead
Re: Thank you for corresponding -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: beadiste Post Reply
01/15/2022, 12:42:55

ChangShanaPostBCN2.jpg (209.2 KB)  


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Re: Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads
Re: Pretty Chinese enameled silver cloisonne beads -- beadiste Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: jenni Post Reply
02/09/2022, 04:41:41

I have both silver emanel and silver plate ones, yes, they are similar, but still can see the difference, and especially the hole



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