Cloisonné enamel is one of the most technically demanding decorative techniques in existence — fine wirework forms a lattice of compartments (“cloisons”) on a metal body, each one individually filled with colored enamel and fired. The result, when done well, is a level of color and pattern precision that few other techniques can match.
Our pair of Chinese cloisonné enamel vases, dating to the Qing Dynasty period (circa 1850–1890) and later converted into table lamps, is a superb example. Each baluster-form vase is decorated with prunus blossoms — a traditional symbol of resilience and renewal — and peacocks, associated with beauty and immortality, rendered in shades of blue, turquoise, and white against a pale cream ground.
The pair now stands on carved wooden plinths with custom pleated silk shades, fully wired and ready for use — a 19th-century Chinese decorative art form quietly repurposed for a contemporary interior, without losing any of the intricacy that made cloisonné so labor-intensive to produce in the first place.
It’s a piece that rewards close inspection: the kind of object where the craftsmanship only becomes fully apparent once you’re standing in front of it.
See it in our Lighting category.
