Chinese Enameled Cloisonné Bowl with Blue and Yellow Peonies

Beautiful Chinese copper bowl made with the cloisonné technique; inside there are two delicate and detailed branches of peony flowers and a graceful butterfly; the design is also repeated on the outer edge; in China the peony is considered the king of flowers, represents a wish for good luck and is a symbol of love and affection, of feminine beauty and spring, while the butterfly represents long life and beauty. The base metal used is a copper casting on which was applied by skilled craftsmen the ancient technique of cloisonné processing, the object can be dated between 1949 and 1950. The Chinese cloisonné, imported from Byzantium, dates back to the reign of Emperor Xuande (1425-1435) and is among the most famous enamel cloisonné in the world. The cloisonné is an ancient decoration technique that starts from the basic object in copper or brass obtained by fusion, on which are glued, with special vegetable glues, copper wires shaped to obtain the contours of the design. In the resulting spaces between the copper wires are placed the mineral pigments that, baked in an oven at high temperatures, melt and become enamel. The process requires various firing as the pigments, melting, shrink and than must be added and fired others, to fill the spaces. In addition, the various pigments used to obtain the different ones, have different melting times, than are baked before those that require higher melting temperature, after those with average and low melting times. than the object is smoothed and polished to even out enamels and metal wires and to obtain a uniform and brilliant surface. At the end, the metal parts that remain uncovered are gilded. The technique has been improved after 500 years, but all the complex manufacturing processes are always carried out strictly by hand by master craftsmen. Measures diameter 27 cm, height 9 cm.