Orchid Friends,
I have just completed an involved project making replacement lids
for two Japanese antique cloisonne vases. The lids were no larger
than 1" diameter and had a combined number of over 400 gold and
silver wires that made up the designs. I learned a LOT on this
project and would like to write an article.
Please note that I did nothing to the vases at all. I only used
their design elements and colors for the removable lids.
My question is: Am I headed for trouble by identifying the artist
that created the vases?
These four-inch vases are approximately 100 years old and are signed
on the bottom. There is no question who created them. The current
owner mentioned that the artist’s family might have a problem with
the use of the name because technically they “owned” it. I believed
that as long as I identified the artist I would be in the clear.
The owner commented that if a reader were familiar with Japanese
cloisonne, they would recognize the artist’s work without the name
being printed and if they weren’t familiar they probably wouldn’t
care one way or the other.
My feeling is, as example, that if I were working with a piece of
enameled jewelry I would rather mention that the piece was a Lalique
rather than an unidentified piece of “antique jewelry”
I can live with this either way but would like your input.
Thank You in advance and an additional Thank You to those that
helped along the way with previous posts. The first was an inquiry
as to what the traditional base metal was on Japanese vases. The
second post was about mold materials for casting the tiny finials.
My most recent post was about an abrasive cross-reference chart. In
each case you Orchids helped provide additional clues to my own
quest.
Orchid Rules! Karla in sunny S. California.