Mid-Century Crackle Enamel-on-Brass Trumpet Vase, Pale Aqua

Details

Description

Mid-century crackle enamel and brass trumpet vase, unmarked. This elegant trumpet vase pairs a pale aqua crackle enamel body with … Read more Mid-century crackle enamel and brass trumpet vase, unmarked. This elegant trumpet vase pairs a pale aqua crackle enamel body with gold-brown veining, a brass flared trumpet neck, and a brass pedestal foot. The base has a green felt pad. It is unmarked, so no maker is claimed. Crackle enamel-on-brass of this type is most often associated with Japanese export ware, but because this piece is unmarked, no definite country of origin is claimed. Dimensions: 9.25 in H x 2.5 in W. Packed for shipping: approx. 13 x 6 x 6 in, approx. 2 lb.

The crackle is the point. As enamel cools it shrinks at a different rate than the layer beneath it, and the surface crazes into that fine web — an accident Chinese potters turned into art a thousand years ago, when the crackled glazes of Song-dynasty Ge ware, with their dark 'iron wire' cracks threaded with fine 'gold thread' ones, became some of the most prized ceramics ever made. The enamel itself is powdered glass fused to the brass body in the kiln, and the trumpet neck and pedestal foot are deliberately left bare, so the metal the whole piece is built on stays in view. See less