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Vase

Manufacturer Elkington & Co. (English (Birmingham), 1829 - 1963)
Date1875
MediumEnamel on copper alloy with gilding
DimensionsOverall: 6 3/4 × 4 1/4 inches (17.15 × 10.8 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: the Lillian M. Diveley Fund
Object number2006.36.1
MarkingsStamped into the exterior bottom ov the vase: "Elkington & Co" and "331" with a half-punched stamp of a Maltese cross
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 127
DescriptionThe vase's baluster-shaped profile curves outward from the base and taper inward at the top. The lip and the base of the vases are gilded metal. The images placed on opposite sides depict a large fish with scales in tones of green swimming upward into a white and pale blue waterfall, and branches of chrysanthemums in brick red, white, yellow, deep blue, and orange with green leaves and brown stems against a turquoise-blue background.Gallery Label

Europe meets Asia in these vividly colored vases. A Japanese-inspired image of a carp against a waterfall decorates one vase, while the other shows a traditional European depiction of nature. In the 1860s and 1870s, Asian goods such as cloisonné enamels (metal forms covered with enamel-filled metal wire cells) flooded Western markets. This stimulated international curiosity and fueled a desire for Asian products. As a result, European and American manufacturers were quick to imitate them.

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side A overall
Elkington & Co.
1875
2006.36.2
Lidded Jar
1870s-1920s
2023.44.1,2
Vase
Jim Leedy
1953
2008.76.6
Vase
Sheldon Carey
1958
2008.76.7
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Christopher Dresser
1880-1883
93-17
Coffee Urn on Base
Elkington & Co.
1900-1920
82-21/14 A
Coffee Urn on Base
Elkington & Co.
1900-1920
82-21/14 B
Snuff Bottle
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34-237/85
Plate
33-106/4