Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Taikei Naotane, signed with kaō and dated 1829, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers, in shirasaya and with a koshirae lacquered in shu and black.
Katana by Taikei Naotane, the most accomplished pupil of Suishinshi Masahide and one of the central figures of shinshintō in Edo (Musashi province), who mastered both the Bizen and the Sōshū traditions. According to the original seller, he held the title Chikuzen Daijō from around Bunsei 4 and later, in Kyoto, received that of Mino no Kami. The blade measures 68.64 cm in nagasa with 1.21 cm of sori; it is broad and thick, with an extended kissaki. The original seller describes a koitame jigane with jinie, chikei and utsuri, rare in late Edo work, and a nie-deki hamon of chōji-midare mixed with gunome, with abundant ashi and kinsuji; the photographs show a very active midare hamon. The nakago, intact in the photographs and with one mekugi-ana, is signed 荘司筑前大掾大慶直胤 (Shōji Chikuzen Daijō Taikei Naotane) with his kaō and dated 文政十二年二月日 (Bunsei jūni-nen nigatsu hi), that is, 1829. It comes in shirasaya and with a koshirae whose saya is lacquered in shu and black, a mokkō shakudō tsuba, and menuki and kurigata bearing the Kuyō mon, described by the original seller without a date. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper no. 1010766, issued in 2019.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (2019)
- Signed with kaō and dated 2nd month of Bunsei 12 (1829)
- Utsuri in the jigane according to the original seller, rare in shinshintō
- Nakago intact in the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
- Shirasaya and koshirae with the Kuyō mon on menuki and kurigata
Points to bear in mind
- The koshirae is described but not dated, and it is not stated to have been made for this blade
- The listing only states that the blade has been polished; it gives no further detail on its condition
Score
110.9 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−10
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20 · recent polish +10
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+8
Mounting described, undated +5 · family crests (mon): 1 +3
-
Blade
+5
68.6 cm: close to the usable range +5
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+7.9
Price: the more affordable, the more points +7.9
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
- 68.6 cm
- Sori
- 1.2 cm
- Tang
- Intact according to the photographs
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- Mounting described piece by piece by the seller at origin
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Smith
- Taikei Naotane
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Bunsei 12 (1829)
- Province
- Musashi
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,07 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,02 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,79 cm
- Blade weight
- 830 g
A new mounting or a polish for your blade? Custom koshirae · Polishing