John, if you are asking in reference to your cloisonne dragons, I belive JRN is correct and that there really is no way to completely restore glass enamel to cloisonne that would be cost effective, as the powdered glass enamels were baked on to the piece. If you plan to sell, since any paint repair would have to be disclosed, you may wish to sell with the damage and let the new owner worry with how they wish to repair. If I remember correctly the indidual colors on cloisonne had to be baked on separately, so an involved process. Sharon

John,

Sorry that I've missed seeing your cloisonné dragon vases.  There is someone in Boston who does invisible restoration of cloisonné, but the cost is substantial.  I also know a cloisonné restorer in Florida, I've handled their work...very impressive....quite invisible to be honest.

The process is not difficult, I've done it myself, but it is time consuming.  Perhaps you want to try your hand at it if you have some time to kill.

Damage on cloisonné usually coincides with a dent, so you have to take the dent out first. Fortunately, the vessels are usually made from copper or brass, which is fairly soft, but start by heating the metal up.  You can put it in the oven and heat to about 175 degrees. Then... use a wooden dowel with a rounded end to GENTLY push the dent out.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but try and get the dent back to as close to normal as possible.  Depending on the width of the opening of your vase, you may have to create a tool that reaches the dent through the opening.

if the dent remains, or simply to smooth the surface, use epoxy putty to create a smooth working surface on the core of the vase.

Then comes the artistic part.  Using acrylic nail polish, mix and match colors to coincide as closely as possible with the color and translucency of the lost enamel, then apply.  Once dry, the nail polish can be buffed/lightly sanded for a uniform surface and texture.

If it comes out poorly, just use acetone to remove, and try again.

Now that you know how to do this, let me say that almost always I sell things as is.  Buyer's generally like to know what they're getting and can feel that 'restorations' are simply ways of hiding major imperfections.

Posted by: @johnshoe

Does anyone know of or have experience with this restoration company: https://restorationservices.com/

And if so would you recommend them? Also, does anyone have any other restorers to recommend? Thanks!  

Good Evening John,

I received a quote from them and it was astronomical. I can't speak for their work quality but I thought that the quote was completely out of line with everyone else.

I work exclusively with Caroline Sickinger for conservation/restoration. She did AMAZING work for me. She was actually recommended to me by Jim Lally, so you can't get much better of a reference than that. Her pricing is very reasonable for the quality of work. I am not sure her experience on cloisonné, but her ceramic/stoneware/porcelain work is impeccable. Her site is https://art-conservation.studio/.

Just to show an example of her work, see a before and after of a Republic period Boys Box I had her restore for me - amazing.

All the best,

Justin

@jg1133 thank you for the Denver reference that’s my second home and I was looking for a repair. 

@greeno107 

 The damage, mostly on the one to the right and towards the bottom around the other side, is only to the ground not the dragons. The artist is Hayashi Chuzo. 

By the way, I'm so curious, what is your big restoration project you mentioned in another post? Hopefully you aren't planning to disintegrate another ancient silk tapestry. 

@greeno107  So I was thinking about the issue of leaving damage vs repairing it. I get your point about leaving it as a way of fully showing the buyer what they are getting. However, I was thinking that if I were to have an item professionally repaired by a reputable and respected restorer, and that restorer documents in writing and photos what the exact repair was and the methods/materials used, then there would be no mystery about it for the buyers, and on top of that there would be no visual resistance due to the poor appearance during the bidding process. I just feel that the last thing a buyer is going to want to see when they look at a lovely Meiji cloisonne dragon vase is the shiny brass showing through a chunk of missing ground. Surely that would have a psychological impact on the bidding. Plus, they would have to go through the whole trouble of getting it repaired themselves. Why not save them the trouble? Now, if it's just me repairing it myself, then that would be another thing altogether, because I'm not a reputable restorer, so in that case I'd rather leave it as is, unless of course I was just doing it for myself and didn't have any plans to sell. In that case I might experiment. I had actually hoped you might share a bit about your process with the charger you recently sold, and your decision not to have it restored, because I recall you had initially been looking into getting it restored but then didn't. If you are able to share any insights into what led you to make that decision I'd love to know. I imagine objects of that level come with a whole host of additional considerations.  John   

@jg1133  Thanks for the fantastic reference and the other info. Cheers!

Hey @johnshoe 

Since @greeno107 (kindly) offered a handy DIY repair technique should you ever wish to save some cash/improve aesthetics, I’ll save the other two I can think of; and I’ll contribute instead with some (subjective) resale advice this time (since you understandably wish to see if you can make some value on the find).

Advice:
My personal view would be to sell them as is.  
The cost of any restoration will likely outweigh the cost received.. 

Some more context on pricing:
While Chuzo does have some collector appeal - I think online prices can be misleading at times.
The prices reflected (that I assume you’re referencing for weighing this decision) in the lower 4 figures were generally contingent on factors less related to the demand for this studio’s work or rarity: but more due to the venue of the sale, it’s strength/curation of offerings & demographic of clients - along with the physical nature of the pieces being rather exceptional themselves, ect.

It’s a nice pair (love the unusual combination of the ground colour), but not particularly a rare design that would reflect those top prices. 
I’ve seen results for similar sized pairs in good condition with this studio’s mark sell in the low hundreds; which is the price point where restorations often start. 

What I would do:
Although there’s likewise always some variables behind lesser performing results and bargains (joy of the receiving buyer, indifferent) if looking at this from a cost-benefit standpoint via reselling then I’d advise letting that be the next owner’s concern in regards to repair. 

I do feel good exposure can yield a wide net of everyday collectors who are less finicky on condition - but still happy and thankful to receive direct access to a maker they personally love. 
Put it on a consumer geared selling platform, set your price with some wiggle-room, and give it a little time to see who comes along. 

Only my advice - and of course, your results and approach may vary! 
Still hope it helped some..

Best,
-JRN

@jrn  Thanks for the info and advice - very helpful! Cheers!  

@johnshoe Hi John!  Japanese cloisonne collectors are generally not willing to buy restored pieces for any more money than damaged unrestored.... there is no financial benefit.  The only benefit is the aesthetic is improved, which is why going cheap sometimes is the right route, or just leave well enough alone.  Chinese cloisonne collectors seem to be slightly more forgiving.

The cloisonne piece I restored was a pair of 18th c. Chinese tripod covered censors.  The base metal was copper,(much easier to work with than bronze or brass) and both vessels had been dropped a few times over the past 200 years.  Using the method I described, the end result was quite nice, but the wide openings in the mouth of the vessels made it fairly easy to work with.

Your Japanese dragon vases look small and have narrow mouths....looks a bit tricky to me.

My big restoration project?  Ah....I am renovating my 1930's building I bought a year ago.  The real estate boom has all the contractors backlogged for months, so my good friend (a retired contractor of 40 years) and I are doing the work.  I love back breaking / hands on jobs like this to offset the countless hours sitting on my ass in the car driving around to antique shops or sales.  Just wish my arthritis felt the same as as I do about the work.

@greeno107  Way to vary your activities! It's good for the health. But yes, the wear and tear aspect is confusing, because the mind choses to do something but then the body says wtf are you thinking. I suppose that's what ibuprophen is for. At any rate, after the input from you and others, I will probably only restore the cloisonne dragon vases if I plan to keep them for myself. Cheers!