A Pair of Chinese Cloisonne Turquoise Blue Ground Vases w/ Taotie Masks

Description

A pair of Chinese cloisonné enamel vases with turquoise blue ground and taotie mask decoration, early 20th century. The vases are constructed in baluster form with wide flared rims and feature characteristic cloisonné work with multicolored enamels set within gilt copper wires. The decoration is applied over a bronze body, visible at the rims and foot rings, consistent with cloisonné. Each vase is decorated in horizontal registers centered around bands of large taotie masks in multicolored enamel, rendered in symmetrical profiles and outlined in copper cloisons. These taotie motifs alternate in color, including deep red, cobalt blue, olive green, and purple tones. The central band is bordered by narrower friezes of ruyi-heads, leiwen (thunder) patterns, stylized floral elements, and eye motifs framed by archaistic triangular lappets. Around the shoulders, a chevron band of lanceolate leaf motifs with white floral emblems is set above additional stylized animal mask motifs featuring eyes and horns. The flared necks are further decorated with mirrored scrollwork and smaller taotie devices on a turquoise leiwen ground, terminating in a ruyi band along the interior and exterior of the rim. These vases are representative of late Qing cloisonné production, which emphasized large-format vessels with elaborate archaistic ornamentation inspired by Shang and Zhou bronze forms. The taotie mask motif, drawn from ritual bronzes, was reinterpreted in enamel as part of a revivalist aesthetic associated with imperial and scholar-official taste. Cloisonné production in Beijing during this period was centralized under imperial workshops and private ateliers using a technique that involved applying enamel paste within wired cells, firing, and polishing to a smooth surface. The use of a turquoise ground and prominent archaic bands corresponds with decorative trends popular under the Guangxu emperor and into the early Republic period. China, Circa: 1920

Details

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