Bronze vase inlaid with precious metals. Japan 19th century

Exceptional vase in copper alloy inlaid with gold, silver, shakudo and shibuichi. The decoration represents two pairs of mandarin ducks at the edge of a river under a hundred-year-old pine covered in snow. The cast is excellent and the finishes perfect. The inlays are in solid metals, there is no gilding, only gold which is exceptional, this kind of work in mixed metals are almost always or largely simply gilded. The inlays, chiseling and engravings are of surprising perfection. It is the work of one of the best Japanese goldsmiths of his time perhaps the better. We have not, to date, researched who it was, but we can do so on request. The pairs of ducks representing marital happiness and the hundred-year-old pine tree longevity, this vase augurs eternal marital happiness. It is very cold, the presence of snow attests to this, more the artist has slightly patinated the surface of the vase with subtle, almost invisible cracks reminiscent of ice cracks. The vase has been pierced and has suffered shocks at the neck and base (see photos). Such works of such high quality are rarely found on the market, an identical vase certainly in a pair with this one was sold about twenty years ago by an auction house in Germany. The neck and base are chiseled with geometric patterns, Greek, lotus flowers, dragons and Lingzi.
Height: 415mm
Exceptional object.