Chinese Christian Cloisonné

Global Interactions, Historicism and Modernity

Series: 

Think you know Chinese cloisonné enamel? Think again. This book reveals it as a vibrant medium of cultural exchange, not just an imperial relic or export craft. Drawing on rarely seen objects, archival treasures, and workshops like Decheng and Beitang, it uncovers a forgotten tradition shaped by Chinese artisans and Catholic institutions. Parada challenges myths about Jesuit origins, corrects misdatings, and restores Chinese agency, showing how these hybrid works illuminate devotion, global encounters, and artistic negotiation. Richly illustrated and rigorously researched, it transforms cloisonné from a marginal curiosity into a lens on China’s cultural and religious history.
Copyright Year:
2026
E-Book (PDF)
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Not Yet Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-76376-0
Publication:
30 Jul 2026
Hardback
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Not Yet Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-75696-0
Publication:
20 Aug 2026
Cover Chinese Christian Cloisonné

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Manuel Parada López de Corselas, Ph.D. (2014, University of Bologna), is Associate Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid. He has published widely on early modern global art, cultural hybridity, and Chinese Christian material culture.
Contents
Foreword
Research Process and Acknowledgments
List of Figures and Maps
Abbreviations

1 Introduction
 1 Scope and Objectives
 2 Makers Speak about Making
 3 Cloisonné Goes Global: the Art’s Integration in Chinese Culture

2 The Era of the Imperial Workshops
 1 Early Chinese Christian Communities and Cloisonné
 2 Early Jesuit Chinese Art and the Problem of Cloisonné

3 The Era of Private Workshops
 1 From Opium Wars to a New Hope
 2 The First Generation of Chinese Christian Cloisonné
 3 Alphonse Favier and the Decheng Workshop
 4 Building Churches and Designing Their Furnishings
 5 “Admirable spécimen de l’art chinois et un témoignage éloquent de la foi des chrétiens de Chine”: Christian Figures and Scenes
 6 “Un triomphe pour les artistes chinois”: Models, Historicism, Ideologies, and Industrial Development

4 Transition to Church Workshops / Early Beitang Workshop
 1 A New Challenge: Cloisonné and En Ronde Bosse: the Vatican Altar Cross and the Metropolitan Figurines
 2 A Blue and Rose Classicism
 3 An Immaculate Transition: Mary, the Queen of White
 4 Artifex sinensis fecit Peking: Chinese Christian Makers

5 The Missionary Workshops Era
 1 The Cloisonné Workshop of the Beitang in Beijing
 2 The Beitang Workshop’s Catalogues and Advertisements
 3 “Une foule d’objects”: Characteristics and Selection of Examples from the Beitang Workshop
 4 Missionary Narratives and Chinese Views
 5 The Shanghai Jesuits versus the Beijing Lazarists: Tushanwan vs Beitang

6 Some Remarks from a Comparative Perspective
 1 China or Japan? The So-Called Namban Crucifixes
 2 Crosses Emulating Italian Micromosaic
 3 Chinese Islamic Cloisonné
 4 Chinese Orthodox and Protestant Cloisonné
 5 A Workshop in Guangzhou Area?

7 The Reinvention of Chinese Christian Cloisonné
 1 Recapitulation: “Christ’s Chinese Tunic” and the Lazarist Accommodation
 2 Celso Costantini and the Sino-Christian Style
 3 Cloisonné as a Status Quo
 4 Criticism of Costantini
 5 From Mario to Mao: Mario Zanin, Furen University and Etienne Merveille
 6 Current Preservation and Use in Original Contexts

Conclusions

Bibliography
Index
While primarily academic, the book also appeals to collectors, art-market professionals, museum visitors, and readers interested in Chinese art, Christian heritage in Asia, cultural exchange, globalization, identity, and visually striking objects.
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