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Hello dear experts of asian antiques,

I found this interesting and well carved bamboo container or flask/ewer. I already had it put for sale on ebay, but today stopped the auction in order to get more infos before selling - maybe I should better keep it?
I asked before about it in this board - but got no answer ca one year ago, maybe now somebody has a clue?

It has 18 cm heights, 9 cm wide. I reasearche the internet about antique or vintage bamboo items but did not find another item like this

Can anybody help my with its origin and possible age - is it old-antique or more likely a vintage (tourist) item?? could this be a wine container or sake flask?
What do the - very neatly and accuratly inserted- characters say - could anybody please translate? Is there a hint on the maker or date....

Hints and Ideas are apreciated.

Greetings from "Angela"-Germany,

Elke

Translation of text:
勿成枝上注泉
活露至梢頭式
玉垂
No need to pour water on the stems of plants
The dew drops from above to the thin end of twigs
薔薇花塢主人　Master of the rose flower village

According to the inscription this is a vintage automatic plant irrigation equipment
The master is seemingly the inventor.

With regards,
I.Nagy

Thank you very much, dear Mr./Mrs I. Nagy. I sold the item in the meantime. The buyer, a connesseur and collector of japanese antique items, who also has informants in Japan, says that it is an old japanese gunpowder flask "Kayakuire"??.

Hm, by looking at some examples of "Kayakuire" items, I am not sure about that...but if so, what a pity that I couldn´t find it out by myself before.

Thank you very much for your help anyway.

Regards, Elke

Dear Elke,

Thank you for the amusing feedback.
The collector may have informants in Japan, but I doubt they are Japanese, who can read and understand
engraved calligraphed texts.The Chinese (not Sino-
Japanese) text clearly speaks for itself.
The Kayakuire (火薬入れ）is not a Jōrō (如雨露）or
watering can - so please be sure you didn`t miss anything.
-Let`s believe in God and keep our gunpowder dry -
With regards,
I.Nagy

The two sentences on your item are:

雨來枝上清泉活露
蠻梢頭紫玉垂

can be roughly translated as:
After the arrival of the rain, rain drops left on the branches;
and they were hanging on the beautiful tips of the branches like pieces of purple jade.

Hope this helps.

蠻

Dear I.Nagy and dear Super: Thank U very much for your help - I apreciate your knowledge and capability of chinese translation, as it seems to be chinese, as I.Nagy stated.
So it was rather a "wet water pouring object" instead of a "gun-powder dry keeper" ;-)).

Thank u and regards,

Elke

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