Rare Antique Chinese Cloisonne Beads Featuring Spotted Deer, Red-Crowned Cranes, and a Dragon

 Eleven years ago, back in July 2015, I wrote about 4 rare Chinese cloisonne beads featuring red-crowned cranes.  Recently two similar beads turned up, this time featuring a dragon chasing the flaming pearl of wisdom, and a landscape scene with a tiny spotted deer and red-crowned crane among mountainside pines. These are classic Chinese themes.  The following slides from auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s and the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art provide explanation and examples.

If anyone has other examples of these seemingly very rare antique beads, do let me know.

[Clicking on an image will enlarge it; opening the enlarged image in a new tab will enlarge it even more.]

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5088341

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/china-5000-years-2/a-cloisonne-enamel-deer-and-crane-moonflask-qing

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/72437

Catalog Booklet of Cloisonne Animals Produced Circa 1970 by Peking Arts and Crafts

 Cloisonne animals are featured in a catalog from Peking Arts and Crafts.  While there is no publication date listed, the phrase

“Since the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution this kind of traditional arts has undergone further development, winning popular favour among peoples of all countries”

likely places the date within the 1966-76 era of the Cultural Revolution, which ended in 1976 with the deaths of Mao and Zhou Enlai.

Imports from China had been under embargo by the United States for 20 years, from the Korean War in 1950 until after Kissinger’s visit in mid-1971 to reopen diplomatic and trade relations. According to the back information in the catalog, however, the major export customer for the cloisonne products listed was still Hong Kong.

Zhang Tonglu, who worked at the cloisonne workshop in the Peking Arts and Crafts factory (established 1960 cf prior blog post), related in interviews how buyers from Hong Kong used to reside for weeks in hotels surrounding the factory in order to accumulate stock immediately as works were produced.

Following the scans of the catalog pages are a few pictures from the Palace Museum collection showing some cloisonne works the factory artists might have used for inspiration in their effort to update “traditional arts.”

A cursory Google Lens search revealed recent auctions featuring what appear to be these colorful reproduction pieces, often listed as "Qing." However, I like to think that the purchasers, whether originally or at auction,  were savvy enough to recognize attractive repros at bargain prices compared to actual imperial antiques.

Note: pictures can be opened in a new tab if an expanded view is desired.

From the Peking Museum collection

From the Peking Museum collection

Auction examples