Material: Bronze (cast), green to turquoise patinated finish Origin: Japan – Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture (attributed) Period: Mid-20th century ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Condition: Good vintage condition. Minor patina loss and age-related surface wear present; photographs of this area are shown at the end of the image set. All accompanying items are limited to what is shown in the photographs. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ This vase was crafted in Takaoka, a region renowned for its long tradition of Japanese metalworking. It features a rich green patinated surface with marbled variations, accented by gold- and copper-toned highlights. Such layered coloration, created through traditional finishing techniques, is characteristic of Takaoka copperware. The interplay between green, bronze, and copper tones varies subtly from piece to piece, ensuring that no two examples are exactly alike. The body of the vase is adorned with a high-relief decoration depicting a pair of auspicious birds in three-dimensional form. The stylized plumage and elongated tail feathers suggest that the birds may represent hōō (phoenix/鳳凰), a mythical creature traditionally associated with virtue, harmony, rebirth, and prosperity in East Asian art. Such auspicious bird motifs are commonly paired with dragons in Japanese decorative arts, symbolizing balance and good fortune. On both sides of the neck are sculptural handles known as “dragon ears (龍耳)” each formed as a stylized dragon. Dragons are auspicious motifs in East Asian art, traditionally associated with strength, protection, good fortune, and upward momentum. The front of the neck features a raised ornament bearing the kanji character「寿」 (Kotobuki), which signifies celebration, felicity, and longevity. Together, the combination of auspicious bird, dragon, and longevity motifs creates a highly auspicious composition. On the underside of the base of the vase, there is an inscription reading “叙勲記念” (Commemorative of a state decoration), followed by the name of the recipient. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Dimensions: Height: approx. 19.5 cm Body diameter: approx. 12.5 cm Mouth diameter: approx. 6 cm Base diameter: approx. 7.5 cm Weight: approx. 0.9 kg ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Shipping • Carefully packed and shipped with tracking. • International shipping via Yamato Transport or Japan Post. • Import duties, taxes, VAT and any other charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These costs are the buyer’s responsibility. Please check your country’s customs regulations before bidding.