Susan is a new beader who shows a love of colour. Vivid cobalt blue is an uncommon choice but the right one for the focal bead she chose. This particular blue Chinese metal and enamelled cloisonné bead is quite large and intricate. So she kept the rest of the necklace simple with extra long cobalt blue bugle beads alternating with short gold ones for contrast.

This Beijing art form first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and later became popular in the Jingtai Emperor period (1426-1456) of the highly artistic Ming Dynasty. The blue shade of enamel was developed during that period. It became the dominant colour of enamelware so much so the Chinese word for cloisonné became known as "jin-tai-lan", or "Jingtai blue."

Beader Design #: 215

References
China Travel : Beijing : Chinese cloisonné enamelware
China Style : Chinese Cloisonne
Wise Geek : What is Cloisonne
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