JAPAN, MEIJI PERIOD, END OF THE 19th CENTURY Large long-necked pear-shaped vase in bronze with a brown patina shaded with light brown and red, orchids in high relief rising from the body to the neck, a bird on one of the stems. With a Gyôkô stamp in relief on the base. H. 43 cm. (The rim is slightly missing and slightly deformed) Note: This is probably the workshop of Akasofu Gyôkô (Sotojiro) in Tokyo (active at the end of the 19th century), producing bronzes for export, particularly birds of prey and samurai. He was a member of the Tokyo Chukinkai (Tokyo Metalworkers' Association) in the second half of the Meiji period. Expert: Cabinet Ansas, Papillon et de Léry.