Early 20th Chinese Cloisonné Vase Pair, Peonies and Bird

My wife acquired these at, yes, Goodwill, and upon close examination the are definitely hand made, showing evidence of finish sanding on a lathe. She has found some close matches apparently worth way more, into the thousands, and that is our question. What is the best source, online, or in print, in order to put a value on these?

They aren't dented or chipped, but the insides are evidently showing their age and use.

Many thanks to you all in advance for your thoughts and comment.

 

Wow, Those are GORGEOUS, but try checking eBay SOLD listings for starters!!! NICE FIND!!!!

 

lovely...and you got a good price.....
but 1000's.....cuz u think u found a close match........I don't think so..
the blue base tells me that these are recent .....late 1990's onward..
imo...

 

The blue base is typical of Chinese cloisonné from late Qing til now.
The base was enameled so it wouldn't warp during repeated firings in a hot kiln, which was a problem with some earlier cloisonné, if the base wasn't covered with cloisonné designs.
But the gilding is in such good condition that I am inclined to think of a later date.

A value of into the thousands does not apply to these vases, well made though they are.
It is always good to have a pair though, and if in good condition they fetch into the low hundreds imo.

What worries me is "the insides are evidently showing their age and use". These vases are decorative, and not made to be used.
I wonder if use as a regular flower vase, with water, has also led to the roughly textured enamel on the base, possibly caused by corrosion of the copper or brass on the inside.

 

Adding, these are 15” high. The blue base does not appear to be affected by any rot. Just wavy or uneven enamel, likely because it was not sanded smooth like the sides. There appears to be an 8” pair very similar sold on eBay. So, in my mind that’s $100 per inch-pair. Haha. I’ll place a tentative value of $1500 for this pair. My guess is these are older than 1990. But WTHDIK as someone else said about glass dumps.

 

The lighter blue of the bottom of the base that's got the ripples in it looks pretty much brand new to me. I believe you will find that each is manufactured exactly that way.

I think these are quite new decorative from a somewhat high end merchandise store 1990s. With the tops and bases all identical, I don't see "handmade" but rather "manufactured" and you've not shown enough close up details for me to think any of this was done by hand. The interior "wear" sounds questionable. Perhaps you could show this to us, along with some details that make you think it is hand made.

I don't think I care if it was "buffed" on a lathe afterwards or not, just something to even out a questionable finish and perhaps try make it appear older than it is.

That aside, these should do quite well for you in individual auctions or by pairs. I'd not show them all at once though.

 

Here is the inside and some closeups

 

I think the reason I assumed hand made is that because the patterns are reversed on the other vase, close inspection shows that thee are variances, such as where the bird's beak lands, that would only be possible with sloppy manufacturing? Seems like just enough human is in the execution.

 

Thanks, yes there does appear to be some human in the execution, but it's imprecise. I think new. The interior appears to be new also, including the solder job at the bottom.

I don't mean brand spanking new, but new as opposed to antique. These look made to be home decorations to me, and def not utilitarian. They will sell fine online.

 

Thanks for posting more photos.

 

As others have said these are relatively modern Chinese examples. They are better than average quality and they are not cheap to buy new. You can find similar pieces today on Made in China, Alibaba etc. In the UK I have a more detailed pair known to have been purchased at the Forbidden Palace in the 90's, I've had them for a while on offer at under £200 and no takers. These items are nice but the market is weak. Don't be that person making wild claims on ebay as there are too many people doing this already!

 

Thanks for that! I’ll revise my valuation accordingly. What is with the 1990’s and these vases though? Was there a manufacturing boom then?

 

Yes. You just jogged my memory. Mid-1990s was the same time period that small bronze statues had a revival remake by the thousands.

 

just say China......

 

The Chinese market opened up to industry and tourism in a big way, so there was a surge in gift type items