Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
A mid-Edo work of the Ishidō school of Gamō in Ōmi, later moved to Edo; 71.3 cm nagasa, suriage tang with machi-okuri, with koshirae and shirasaya.
Mitsuhira belongs to the Ishidō school that originated in Gamō, Ōmi province, and later moved to Edo; this blade is placed in the mid-Edo period, in the seventeenth century, and carries no cut date. It measures 71.3 cm nagasa with 1.0 cm sori. The tang is suriage and shows machi-okuri and two mekugi-ana, as the original seller confirms. It holds NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers and comes with koshirae and shirasaya (拵付白鞘入, koshirae-tsuki shirasaya-iri). The original seller's documentation is bilingual and sets the data out in a table, but does not describe the mounting: he places it between late Edo and the Meiji era, with no further detail and no tōsōgu papers of its own.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, with koshirae and shirasaya
- Ishidō school of Gamō in Ōmi, later moved to Edo
- 71.3 cm nagasa, a generous length for a katana
- The piece's data are set out clearly and bilingually by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Suriage tang with machi-okuri and two mekugi-ana, confirmed by the original seller
- The original seller places the mounting between late Edo and the Meiji era, later than the blade
- The mounting is not described and has no tōsōgu papers of its own
- The signature carries no date
Score
65.2 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
−20
Shortened tang (suriage) −20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
+5
Mounting described, undated +5
-
Blade
+10
71.3 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+20.2
Price: the more affordable, the more points +20.2
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
- 71.3 cm
- Sori
- 1 cm
- Tang
- Shortened tang (suriage)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Heki Mitsuhira
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Mid-Edo period (17th century)
- Province
- Musashi (Tokio)
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
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