The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Perpetual Vine Cup on Stand
1965
(American, Cleveland, 1904–1994)
Overall: 7.7 x 10 cm (3 1/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
Bequest of Marie Odenkirk Clark 1972.1195
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
There is no backing to the enamel cloisonné in Perpetual Vine, rendering it both translucent and dangerously fragile.Description
Kenneth Bates spent a lifetime devoted to the art of enameling. He taught several generations of students at the Cleveland Institute of Art, who subsequently became renowned enamelists, and created a spectacular body of work that won him international accolades. This small, luxurious cup typifies the skill and technical prowess of Bates's talent. Featuring the cloisonné enamel technique known as plique-à-jour, in which the enamel is applied in cells with no backing, the cup seemingly exists with no structure, held aloft only by the tiny silver arms of its stand. The translucent enamel lets the light permeate as a stained glass window would in a church. The effect is ethereal and impressionistic, and in this way, recalls the work of the masters of this art from the early 1900s, René Lalique and Fernand Thesmar.- Kenneth F. Bates Entry Card to 1964 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- The Cleveland Institute of Art: 100 Years. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 1982-January 30, 1983).The May Show: 46th Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists and Craftsmen of The Western Reserve. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-June 14, 1964).
- {{cite web|title=Perpetual Vine Cup on Stand|url=false|author=Kenneth F. Bates|year=1965|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.1195