Rare large pair of beautiful original Japanese bronze temple lanterns with gilt highlights. A Sasarindo crest on the section where the light would be placed; the Sasarindo is the bamboo leaves and gentian flowers crest of the Minamoto clan.
The doors are fully functional. Each lantern is made of 6 individual cast bronze sections. A pearl in a flame sits on top of each lantern. Two very intricate dragons wrap around the lanterns. There are abundant motifs of dragons, flames and clouds. The pair may have been used in a small shrine within a temple altar complex.
Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912 AD)
Size: 62" height x 28" depth.