page_title: Japanese craft
section_title: Cloisonné
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese craft / Others / Cloisonné
caption_attribution_description: English: This large vase decorated with flowering cherry branches and two small birds is a magnificent example of the work of the Ando Cloisonn&#233; Company at about the turn of the 20th century. It reveals the mirror black surface that had become the standard for decorative vases of this type. The motif adorning the swelling body of the vase is a conservative one evocative of the earlier enamels that first came to the attention of European and American collectors during the last three decades of the 19th century. The border patterns at the foot and around the rim suggest the work of a studio artisan working from a pattern book. These patterns were documented and selected to compliment the more representative designs that form the primary decorative subject. Much like a frame around a painting, the harmony created between the main subject and the borders became an important indication of the relative success of the individual piece.
context_page_description: Craft in Japan has a long tradition and history. Included are handicraft by an individual or a group, and a craft is work produced by independent studio artists, working with traditional craft materials and/or processes.
context_section_description: Cloisonné (截金, shippō) is a glass-like glaze that is applied on a metal framework, and then fired in a kiln. It developed especially in Owari province around Nagoya in the late Edo period and going into the Meiji era. One of the leading traditional producing companies that still exists is the Ando Cloisonné Company. 
  Techniques of shippō include: 
  Yusen-shippō (有線七宝)
  Shotai-shippō (省胎七宝)
  Doro-shippō (泥七宝)
caption: Vase with Flowering Cherry and Birds by Ando Cloisonné Company, circa 1910.
exif: {}