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Hello all! I would like opinions as to age and quality of these cloisonne ducks.

As you can see, they were purchased in 1979 and/or 1982 for $160 each. However, I can't be sure that is their correct age. The reason being is that I had a good friend who was a flight attendant from the very early 1960's through the early 1980's and often flew to Hong Kong and China. She had quite the expensive taste and would visit the antique markets and the expensive stores quite often. Therefore, even the antique trinkets she bought were boxed in nice new boxes at the time.

Nevertheless, antique or vintage, they are quite a nice pair. Please share your thoughts. Thank you!

The duck boxes compare well to others I've seen that probably dated to the late 20th century. If they were bought in Hong Kong, the $160 would have been a bit more than US$20 apiece in the 70's and 80's, though I also have mixed emotions about whether the numbers with the "DQC" headers are dates or something else. The handwritten characters 利志人 read from the left as "Li zhi ren", which literally might mean "Profit Statistician", suggesting a type of accountant. "Li" also is a Chinese surname.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Further to my initial comments, here are a couple of duck boxes I bought recently for about $25 each. The last one shown is slightly larger at about 5.25 inches long by about 4.75 inches high at the head. I'd date these to about the mid-1980's or later, after post-Gang of Four economic reforms were in full swing under the leadership of the rehabilitated Deng Xiaoping. I'd visited the Beijing Cloisonné Factory on tour in late 1981, and saw very few cloisonné pieces that looked as well finished as these.

Best regards,

Bill H.

If they were cloisonne, the enamels would be highly polished to the level of the wires.

From your photos it appears that the brassy outlines were rather hastily painted on. So not cloisonne.

They are cloisonné. Not sure what you think you're seeing. Not painted on! Brass. Very nice hand work! Not machine work so brass isn't "uniform." I'm certain of it. There is without a doubt that they are cloisonné. I will try to get better pictures.

Government subsidy and promotion of cloisonne as an important export source for foreign exchange, resulted in a flood of cloisonne objects during the 70s- 90s. Animal figurines were - and still are - a popular product.
The casual wirework and glossy enamel seem typical of these more recent products, not of pre-WW2 items or antiques from before WW1.

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