Property of various owners YŪI WORKSHOP (ACTIVE LATE 19TH CENTURY)A Large Inlaid-Bronze Vase Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th century The tapering ovoid body worked in iro-e takazōgan and hirazōgan with a rooster in blossoming chrysanthemum and flowering peonies below a stiff leaf-and-garland band on the sloping shoulder, the wide flaring neck worked in relief with waves and clouds framing dragons centering kotobuki medallions and flanked by a pair of large animal mask-and-ring handles with gold accents, all raised on five supports encircling the pedestal base and profiled to resemble scrolling tendrils, inscribed on the underside Dai Nihon Teikoku Etchū-shū Takaoka Yūisha seizō 26 3/4in (67.8cm) high The history of casting copper alloys in Takaoka, the provincial capital of Etchu (present day Toyama Prefecture), is reputed to date to the early Edo period, the industry encouraged by the local feudal government as a source of ie. Around 1830, new sales venues were developed, extending from Edo to the northern-most part of the Japanese archipelago, eventually expanding to overseas export markets during the late 19th century.