Antique Millefleur Cloisonne Box by Lao Tian LI

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An exceptional fine cloisonné enameled box, dating from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic period (late19th century to … Read more An exceptional fine cloisonné enameled box, dating from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic period (late19th century to early 20th century), produced by the studio of Lao Tian Li.
Having incredibly intricate and tightly packed 'Millefleur' (thousand flowers) enamel patterns within fine metal wire enclosures, this is one of the most labor-intensive patterns to create and characteristic of the top-tier luxury market goods produced by the studio of Lao Tian Li.
The tightly packed cells require extensive hand wiring and precision firing compared to simple scrolling vines on solid backgrounds.

The box features rounded corners on both its vertical and horizontal axes, softening the edges by crafting rounded surfaces, rather than sharp 90-degree angles, this design detail required extensive skill, as the metalwork supporting the enamel had to be perfectly shaped, and the rigid wire cloisonné had to carefully curved to follow the contour of the box without snapping or detaching before the enamel firing process.

Lao Tian Li was the most renowned and prestigious cloisonné workshop active in Beijing during this era, notably winning first class awards at the 1904 Chicago World’s Fair and the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition.

Incised mark to the side of the box “製利天老” (read from right to left, translates to “Lao Tian Li, made”). See less