Goblet shaped as stylized lotus blossom

Cloisonné is a decorating technique in which copper wires were soldered onto a metal core, filled with enamels of various colours and then ground and polished. In Chinese art, it is one of the few decorative procedures brought to the country from abroad. Objects adorned in the cloisonné technique were especially popular among Qing dynasty emperors and officials, who were ethnic Manchus and whose taste was quite different from the traditional Chinese literati concepts. Another major enamel technique is painting done in colourful enamels applied on a metal body, which is reminiscent of porcelain decorated in overglaze colourful enamels. The city of Canton became a major production centre of artefacts imitating Western shapes and motifs designed exclusively for export to Europe.