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Hello,
I hope someone can read the japanese writings which are near the top of what I believe a japanese bronze vase which was after used as an oil lamp (marked Kosmos by Wild&Wessel): two birds are also represented on this vase and maybe one is a Phoenix.
Thanks a lot for your kind help and greetings from Rome,
Luciano

the mark is imitating a Chinese reign mark of the Ming Xuande emperor, but this in itself means very little, as this mark is very common on bronzes made since that time. Better for identification purposes to focus on examples with comparable form, decorative style, and perhaps indications of wear. The decoration seems somewhat crude to me relative to the best Meiji bronzes, but I don't know what information exactly that conveys (is this Meiji/Taisho, or even a modern Chinese imitation?), perhaps one of the Japan experts will offer an opinion.

Hello,
thank you so much for your kind and expert reply: about the vase age, I am sure this is not a recent item since the burner was made at the end of the XIXth century. So it should be a japanese Meiji vase imitating a chinese Ming one.
Thank you again and best regards,
Luciano

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