A LARGE JAPANESE BRONZE INCENSE BURNER AND COVER

A LARGE JAPANESE BRONZE INCENSE BURNER AND COVER, KORO

MEIJI 1868-1912

The square-section body with two loop handles and raised on four tall legs, decorated with panels containing a ho-ho bird on one side and a shishi on the other, with further stylised birds on a leiwen ground, the lid topped with an eagle with its wings outstretched, the base signed Dai Nippon Kandagawa atari no ju Shokaken kore o iru with kao, 47cm. (2)

Shokaken may have been an alternative name used by Oshima Joun (1858-1940), who was one of the most important sculptors of the late Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods.