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