Cloisonné

Before my mother was born, her parents and her older sister lived in the Philippines for a number of years. When Grandma returned home to the States, she brought with her many beautiful things. A few of which are currently in my possession, three more now than there were a few weeks ago. I am now the very proud owner of three gorgeous cloisonne vases that I remember having lived in Grandma's house when I was a child. What is cloisonne? Simply put, it's a metal vase (or bowl, or piece of jewelry, or ...) with a design worked into it in metal, and the spaces are filled with enamel. Grandma had other pieces of cloisonne, but Mom's not willing to part with them yet. Frankly, I'm surprised she offered these to me. Delighted, but surprised.

The first vase is Japanese cloisonne. In Japanese cloisonne, the designs are small and intricate, and most of the vase is one large piece of background color—at least the one I have is made this way. This vase has two very fancy dragons on it, on a rich blue background—which happens to fit in perfectly with the June Spectrum!

The other two vases are a matched pair, and are Chinese cloisonne. The Chinese fill the entire piece with a delicate pattern before adding the enamel. From a distance these vases don't look too impressive, but when you get up close you can see the tiny swirls of metal that completely cover each vase. Stunning. I wish I had a better lens on my digital camera so you could see how incredible these vases really are.

Because it's blue month, I'll back up a bit and show you the vases from a distance, and how pretty they are in front of Dave's blue painting (no, he didn't paint it, he just owns it). I think the colors are perfect together.