A MASSIVE BRONZE KORO AND COVER WITH TOKUGAWA MON Japan, 19th century, late Edo period (1615-1868) The sides of the vessel are finely worked in relief with two panels framed by ferocious dragons amid clouds, depicting to one side Lady Rokujo at the Nonomiya Shrine, with long hair and dressed in a long flowing court dress, standing in the sacred bamboo enclosure amid jars filled with water and reading a love-letter from Prince Hikaru Genji. The other panel depicts her as a vengeful spirit wearing a mask of Hannya, and clutching her long, finely incised hair with one hand. The ovoid vessel supported on a revolving foot cast with crashing waves above a compressed globular `basketweave` segment raised on four elegantly curved legs on a tiered circular base. The pierced cover surmounted by a screeching eagle with fierce expression and outstretched wings. The vessel is flanked by two handles in the form of sinuous dragons with neatly incised scales and mouths wide open, with a third dragon writhing around the foot. The neck is cast to either side with the Tokugawa clan mon (aoi mon), while the cover and base are decorated with crests of six radiating aoi leaves. The base with a cho mon (butterfly crest). With a finely carved wood stand supported on four elegantly curved legs with scroll-form feet above an apron carved with clouds and foliage surmounted by a tiered square platform carved with decorative bands. HEIGHT 132 cm (censer only), HEIGHT (total) 180 cm WEIGHT 28 kg (excl. stand) Condition: Good overall condition with some wear, tiny nicks, light scratches, some repairs with traces of soldering, minor losses. Provenance: Belgian private collection. Lady Rokujo is a character in The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari). She is a mistress of the novel`s protagonist, Hikaru Genji, with whom she becomes infatuated and jealous of his other lovers. Her jealousy subconsciously causes her ikiryo (wandering spirit) to become a Shiryo (also known as a Yurei) that attacks and murders multiple other mistresses and wives of Genji. The Tokugawa`s clan symbol, known in Japanese as a mon, the "triple hollyhock" (although commonly, but mistakenly identified as "hollyhock", the aoi actually belongs to the birthwort family and translates as "wild ginger"—Asarum), has been a readily recognized icon in Japan, symbolizing in equal parts the Tokugawa clan and the last shogunate. The cho (butterfly) mon traditionally represents the Taira Clan, who prospered during the Heian era (AD 700 ~ 1200). They are recognized as the first to use this mon, and nearly all of the modern families who claim it are descendants of the Taira clan. Auction comparison: Compare a related bronze koro with eagle finial, dated to the late 19th century, measuring 149.8 cm, sold at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 12 September 2012, New York, lot 3373 ( sold for 15,000 USD ).