I have no clue...

[ericagates]

Ok, So my soon to be father in law had this neighbor, who was an widow in her 70's.. She was moving, and we helped her pack some stuff up.. In conversation my fiancé mentioned he collected brass items. When we were done, and she was all packed up she gave us a 4 foot tall brass deer from Belgium, and this odd lidded bucket she said come from Jerusalem. When her and her wealthy 1st husband used to travel to the middle east, they somehow acquired it. She didn't remember where, or how.

I have no clue if any of what she said is true, so if anyone could shed some light on this item, I would greatly appreciate it.

I believe it to be brass, it was very oxidized but 4 days of cleaning, I'm starting to get somewhere.
Height to lid - 11 inches
Height to top of handle - 16 inches
Fixed Handle, doesn't even wiggle, will not move.
Covered in some sort of marks, look like odd animal symbols.

 

[unclemac]

you were not supposed to clean it, the patina was part of its original look. It is a reproduction of an archaic Chinese bronze piece, perhaps some form or wine ding or brazier. Shang dynasty style.

look at these examples for more info.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chi...UwGDQIHVGuAnUQ_AUoAXoECBcQAw&biw=1536&bih=722

The Michael Michaels Collection of Early Chinese Art at Christie's London, 7 november 2017 - Alain.R.Truong

 

[DCMatt]

Unclemac is right on. Do a search on “Chinese bronze you”. It appears to be some sort of ancient ritual or burial piece (reproduction).