blissbat > objects > cloisonné fish

object: cloisonné fish

Goldfish were first raised in captivity in Chinese Buddhist monasteries as early as the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). Goldfish are technically carp, and modern fancy goldfish are the product of a thousand years or so of selective breeding. The cloisonné goldfish above most closely resembles the "telescope" genre of goldfish, the most common of which is the "Moor" (black and bulgy-eyed, no less).

Goldfish are still enormously popular in East Asia, as the Hong Kong Goldfish Pagoda illustrates. This only partially explains the oddness that is Goldfish Warning, but anime is typically best left unexplained.

Appropriately, cloisonné (technique of enameling inside gilt metal lines) was developed in China. The Chinese have been making cloisonné for about half as long as they've been raising goldfish. In China, the dominant color of enamelware has traditionally been blue, and cloisonné is called "Jingtai Blue" after the Ming emperor Jingtai, under whose reign the art flourished.

This fish, by the way, isn't mine, nor is it actually cloisonné — more like cloisonnish. It's jointed and flexible and intended to be inspiration for an animator I know, who is kindly letting me borrow it for objectification.