Japanese Silver Mark ID...Large Koro/Censer/Thurible Meiji or Older

Stumped on this. Anybody know these marks? I'd appreciate the help. Thank you.

 

Hi and WELCOME, Ctlaltdelete! A huge suggestion for you: When loading your images, the very top one "post ALL IMAGES FULL SIZE"......click THAT one once they're loaded small, and then they will all appear LARGE!!! Thanks!!! MUCH EASIER on older eyes!!! Images should be NO LARGER than 1 MB.....480 x 640 is a good general size. I can't help, but others should be along........

 

Thanks for the tip. Trying again.

 

Sorry I can be of no assistance, but I did want to welcome you to the forum!

If you get a moment and don't mind, would you tell us how you found us? We (okay, I) are curious about EVERYTHING, not just antiques!

ctlaltddelete - my current alternative to the old "if it doesn't work, hit it with a hammer" strategy!

 

Thank you. Lots of interesting stuff here. Found you via a Google search whilst researching Japanese silver hallmarks/maker's marks.

 

ooohh...that;s nice !

 

Obviously some sort of incense burner one could swing around.What a beautiful piece! That could be gold inlay as well.

 

Thank you. It is gorgeous and big and heavy. Pretty sure it's .98, according to a metallurgist friend of mine. I've got a chance to buy it and I think it's worth way more than the asking price. Trying to identify it to pin down its value better.

 

Welcome! And I'd buy it if possible. I mean, how many time does one get to use the word, "thurible," much less to own one?!

 

Welcome, and it is a thuribly gorgeous koro.
Sorry, don't know much about Japanese silver, other than they usually use a high fineness, even up to 1000.

 

Thuribly funny...

 

It's a good thing we can say thurible, otherwise it might get us censered.

 

The mark, upside down, is 純銀 literally "pure silver." Not sure why you've ruled out the possibility this is Chinese, though Chinese silver usually does have a maker's mark.

 

Thanks khl, I was waiting for you, just like I wait for Natasha for Cyrillic script. We ignorami rely on you two, you know.
I have made a note of the characters, but I'm sure I won't recognize them next time. Maybe I should frame them and put them on my wall (if I only had space).

Agree.

 

Thank you very much. Leave it to this dork to show it upside down...

I've not ruled out that it may be Chinese. I'm still totally just guessing. So is that mark Chinese then? I have found comparable pieces on the Internet from Medieval Syria and Edo-Meiji Japan, and that mark is clearly not Arabic--Hence the Japanese guess. In Japanese, I think that this would be called a Tsuri-Goro (hanging Koro). If it is Chinese, do you know what it would be called?

 

The following link is to some sphere shaped incense burners on the Incense Burner Virtual Museum. There isn't one pictured as nice as yours and only a couple of silver ones. They don't seem to have a particular name for them other then sphere. Also they really have very little info about them. Clicking the thumbnails enlargest the pics.

http://www.kandaki.com/BP-Index.php?st=c&shp=Sphere

--- Susan

 

Thank you! Is the consensus then that this is a Chinese silver mark or Japanese?

 

Yes, Chinese, especially with khl889 (the forum oriental writing guru) say.

 

The mark with those characters could be used in both Japan and China.

If those are cranes, then cranes are more frequently a Japanese motif.

 

Thanks! This is kind of like trying to finish a crossword puzzle...But more interesting and fun. I think I'll call it Japanese (agree with the Crane motif)...Unless it's worth more as Chinese...Then it's Chinese (ha!).