花瓶 - Bronze, Gold - Japan - アンバーゴールド・アクロス - 銀象嵌の双鯉をあしらったブラス花瓶 - 峰雲 (No reserve price)

The gold

The body is ōdō — brass, an alloy of copper and zinc that is golden by nature rather than by plating. There is no gilding here to wear away; the colour goes through the metal.

Hōun has worked the surface to a fine even stipple, so it does not shine like polished metal but glows — a deep honey-amber that darkens toward the foot and lifts across the shoulder where light falls. The texture is what makes it work. A mirror finish would throw hard reflections and fight the inlay; this ground absorbs light and holds it, and the effect is less like looking at metal than at water with sun in it.

That is the point of the colour choice. The fish are not swimming against a decorative background. They are swimming in light.

The twin carp

Two carp cross the belly of the vase in opposite directions, and no two square centimetres of them are the same colour.

The metalworker has used the full alloy palette of Japanese chōkin: bright silver along the flanks, warm gold through the fins and the upper body, and dark near-black tones at the head and dorsal ridge. Each scale is individually engraved, and the engraving turns with the curve of the body so the fish read as rounded rather than flat. Fins are cut in fine parallel lines that catch light separately from the scales. The eyes are set as separate inlays, which is why they hold your gaze the way they do.

Around the fish, pale silver streaks run diagonally across the gold — water, indicated rather than drawn, the way current shows on a bright surface.

What twin carp mean

The carp is the single most loaded animal in East Asian art. Chinese legend holds that a carp which fights its way up the falls at the Dragon Gate is transformed into a dragon — the origin of tōryūmon, the phrase still used in Japanese for the decisive threshold of a career. The fish stands for persistence against current, and for the reward that follows it.

Paired, it means more. Sōri — twin carp — is an ancient literary emblem of correspondence between separated people, from the tale of a letter carried inside a pair of fish. Two carp swimming together also signify marital harmony, and remain a standard gift for a wedding or an anniversary.

Here the two are turned toward opposite ends of the vase but held in one continuous composition. Whichever reading you bring to it, the object was made as a wish for someone.

The technique

Chōkin — Japanese chased and inlaid metalwork — reached a level in the late nineteenth century that has never been surpassed anywhere, driven by former sword-fitting craftsmen who found their trade abolished and turned their skills to vases, boxes and okimono for export. The techniques on this piece descend directly from that tradition: metals of different colours set into a prepared ground and finished flush, then engraved.

There is no forgiving stage in the process. Inlay cannot be lifted and repositioned, and an engraved line cannot be taken back.

Images displaying this artwork inside a room setting are virtually staged to show interior context. The artwork in the render is unedited. Please refer to the written dimensions and direct standalone photos for the definitive size, color, and physical condition of the piece.

Signature: Engraved Hōun (峰雲) to the reverse

Condition: Excellent.

About the Artist
Houn (峰雲), whose real name was Kanekichi Harada, was a distinguished Japanese artist specializing in copper casting.
He was a leading figure in crafting bonsai and suiseki copper trays, having learned the wax casting technique from his father, the first-generation Houn.
Houn worked as a craftsman for a Tokyo floral vessel specialty shop called "Kobe-ya," producing thin-edge flower containers and water trays as well as ornaments.
Later, he gained recognition for creating finely crafted thin copper trays specifically for bonsai and suiseki enthusiasts, often commissioned by collectors.
His works are noted for their unique molds, exquisite finishes, and the elegant beauty of pieces ranging from large (over 1 meter) to small miniature pieces.
His artistry reflects both practical use and refined aesthetics, valued highly among collectors.

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