Featured Chinese antique clandestine pottery help needed

Hi can anyone plz help with the origin of this intriguing piece as you can see it is quite old I haven't dared try clean the oxidisation off the metal I'm not sure if is bronze or gold, the figure on the lid appears to be a lions lead when viewed from one side and a frogs when viewed from the opposite side!Any help much appreciated thanks

 

Def bronze/brass not gold. Cloisonné enamel. 20th century I believe. Looks Asian but not sure where.

 

Welcome, Caine. What we can see is that it is meant to look quite old. The Chinese are masters at faking antiquities, their own & other cultures'. Was 'clandestine' supposed to be 'cloissone'? Or are you suggesting it was smuggled?

 

Sorry my bad I was meant to say cloissone # someone was actually throwing it out and I found it quite an interesting piece does anyone know what the meaning of the frog and the lion as a symbol

 

Welcome to the forum, Caine.
It is a censer. It is a marriage, the lid doesn't fit. Ask the person if they have a vase in the same style.
The overall look and the blue enamel on the inside are Chinese. But it looks like there is some foil enamel in the square cartouche with the butterflies, that would suggest Japanese. Could you post some more focused photos?
The figure on the lid looks like a dog? Hard to see.

You can clean the bronze, that won't harm it. Just be careful with the enamel, some soapy water will be fine for that.

 

Caine, I am a bit confused by the pictures, on this one it looks like the lid fits. Does it fit snugly in the censer?

I can see what you mean by frog. Maybe you will which animal it is when you've cleaned it.
The brown enamel looks like goldstone enamel now. It is Japanese.