Jan Wesselingh was an employee of Netherlands Harbour Works Co. from Amsterdam, working in Guangzhou (Canton) before WWII and in Hong Kong after WWII. I was brought in contact with two of his sons by Theodor A.R. Strauss, 1988-1993 secretary of Nederlandse Reünisten Vereniging China (NRCV, Dutch Reunists Association China), of which Jan Wesselingh was a member.
According to tradition, this bronze bowl was found during dredging works by Netherlands Harbour Works Co. in Xiamen in 1938. The bowl has a flat surface and lettering or symbols at the bottom (3 photos).
If you can help identify and date this bowl, please leave a comment.
Courtesy Wesselingh family archives
Source: This image came from Flickr, see https://flickr.com/photo.gne?id=49072558311
Comments
Re: This may be 'OLD'
Hi there,
This may be OLD. The ancient script (小篆）may be 琴書侶, if converted to modern day tradition characters. (By the right, the traditional way to read) You do need some experts in order to date it.
If 琴書侶 could be proved to be genuine, it could mean Ming Dynasty, Xuande era. Don't trust me. But there are just too many fakes out there. Suggest to get expert opinions.
Instead of a bowl, it is likely an incense burner whether it is genuine or an imitation product.
T