Vintage plique a jour cloisonné plate on wooden stand.

Delicate plique a jour cloisonné plate on wooden stand. The floral design features blue flowers and red flowers, and green foliage against a cream background with gold borders. This collectable vintage Chinese handicraft was created in the 1980s using a vitreous enameling technique in which the enamel is laid down in cells of shaped wire. The technique is similar to cloisonné, but without a base in the final product, so light can shine through the transparent or translucent enamel. It is essentially a miniature version of stained glass and is considered extremely challenging to create. A piece like this can take up to four months, and the technique has a very high rate of failure. Plate measures 9" across.