Three-footed bowl

Cloisonné is a decorative technique in which thin wires are soldered to an object’s metal core. The resulting “compartments” are then filled with enamels of different colours, fired and polished. It is one of the few decorating techniques in Chinese art to have come from abroad. Cloisonné objects were especially popular among emperors and officials of the last Qing dynasty, ethnic Manchus whose tastes often differed from those of the traditional Chinese literati. Their impressive patterns were similar to those on porcelains or other objects of the decorative industry and cloisonné was therefore popular both, in Chinese palace interiors and among early European collectors of Asian art.