A Japanese Meiji period shallow copper dish, 10 3/4 inches or 27.3 cm across, decorated with inlaid and overlaid bamboo, copper and gold leaves. Shakudo blossoms, a cricket and a butterfly are worked in gold, copper and shibuichi. The dish is unsigned.

The supplier notes that mixed-metal work of this kind came from sword fitting artists who lost their trade after Emperor Meiji's decree ended the wearing of swords by samurai, and that the resulting pieces suited Victorian taste. For a Texas collector of Japanese metalwork that is the appeal: fitting-makers' skills applied to a dish you can set on a table or hang on a wall rather than hidden on a hilt. At over ten inches it is a substantial piece, and the mix of shakudo, shibuichi, copper and gold gives several tones to study in good light.

Key features

• Meiji period shallow copper dish
• 10 3/4 inches (27.3 cm) diameter
• Bamboo, copper and gold leaf inlays and overlays
• Shakudo blossoms, cricket and butterfly in gold, copper, shibuichi
• Unsigned

The dish ships to your door in Texas with no FFL or permit required.