Chinese lidded vase in cloisonne and gilt bronze enamel, probably from the first half of the 20th century. The domed lid with finial in the shape of a seated Buddhist lion overlooks the lid and the profusely decorated body. The inside of the vase, as well as the bottom, are both glazed in blue. Cloisonné, also called Byzantium luster, is a technique of artistic enamel decoration, in which thin threads (filigrees) or strips or small metal partitions (usually copper), cells or alveoli (called cloisons in French), are welded or glued to a support slab of the work to be built; subsequently, in the areas raised by the metal, enamel is poured, thus obtaining a sort of mosaic whose tiles are exactly circumscribed by the metal strips. This technique is of the "additive" type of enamel material on metal.
