Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Echizen blade with the kikumon chiselled ahead of the signature, attributed by workmanship and by the cut of the mei to the first generation Kunikiyo, a pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro.
Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo worked in Echizen, present-day Fukui prefecture, around the Kan'ei era (1624-1644). Four generations used the name, and this blade is taken to be the work of the first, the finest of the line, an attribution the original seller rests on the workmanship and on the cut of the signature, as supported by the certificate. Kunikiyo came from Matsushiro in Shinano, the son of Sukemune, third master of the Shimada school of Suruga; he went up to Kyoto and studied under Horikawa Kunihiro. After his master's death he entered the service of Matsudaira Tadamasa, lord of Takada, and followed him to Fukui. In 1627 he received the title of Yamashiro Daijō and in 1628 that of Yamashiro no Kami, with which the blade is signed. Beneath the title is the kikumon, the chrysanthemum that records the privilege granted by the court to this line. The blade measures 69.6 cm nagasa with 1.0 cm sori. Koshirae, shirasaya and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers are included.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Kikumon, the imperial chrysanthemum, chiselled ahead of the signature beside the Yamashiro no Kami title
- Attributed to the first generation Kunikiyo, a direct pupil of Horikawa Kunihiro
- Tang in excellent condition, the signature complete and legible at full resolution
- Supplied with koshirae and shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- Two mekugi-ana, one of them plugged with a metal stopper: the mounting point was changed at some stage (machi-okuri, shortening or simply a new mounting), and the photographs do not settle which
- The hole in use cuts into the upper petals of the chrysanthemum, so it was drilled or widened after the engraving
- The kikumon records the privilege of the line, not the generation: the later ones used it too
- Fine polishing marks on the shinogi-ji; the mounting is documented only in the photographs
Score
83.6 pointscurrent max. 255
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Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
−10
Full-length tang, with the machi moved up (machi-okuri) −10
-
Declared condition
−5
The original seller declares flaws 0 · small kitae-ware, away from the edge −5
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−5
Mounting described, undated +5 · new habaki −10
-
Blade
+10
69.6 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+23.6
Price: the more affordable, the more points +23.6
The score adds and subtracts points for each feature of the piece and has no ceiling: the highest in the catalogue today is 255. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. The mounting starts from what is known of its period, adds what vouches for it (its own NBTHK paper, a signed fitting, a crest) and subtracts what has been restored (saya, ito, same, habaki or sageo).
Measurements
- Nagasa
- 69.6 cm
- Sori
- 1 cm
- Tang
- Full-length tang, with the machi moved up (machi-okuri)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Kan'ei era (1624–44)
- Province
- prov. de Echizen
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Minor flaws declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
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