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I'm trying to help a friend authenticate the almost two foot-tall Japanese gilt bronze censer shown herewith. It is marked "Kinjudo", a metal-working and casting studio in Kyoto, which was described by one online source as having been "perhaps the most famous metal house in Kyoto specializing in tetsubin" during the Meiji-Taisho period. Other information found on the web indicates that in addition to the cast iron kettles called tetsubin, Kinjudo was a maker of bronze bells; however, I couldn't find any other censers, if indeed that's the intended function of this item.

The iconography includes various types of insects such as the mantis, cicada, grasshopper and stag beetle amidst grapes, eggplants (the two-piece casting being a giant eggplant), maize and millet. So I suppose it could be used to serve food or drink at a banquet. Ideas are welcome.

I'd also be thankful for views on whether the item is an authentic Kinjudo work. I tend to think it may be, since the mark appears to be a first-generation casting, as opposed to a copy, and the rest of the work is quite good, though has suffered some pitting, perhaps when the body was being poured. It is difficult to tell in how many pieces the item might have been cast, but the bottom section definitely was made separately and bolted to the body. The mark seems to have been cast separately as well. It could be late Meiji but the use of gilt instead of a more traditional patina makes me lean toward Taisho or later. There is still a Kinjudo metal company operating in Japan, making things like pipes.

All comments will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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