Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana by Tanba no Kami Terukado, a Mino smith active around the Manji era, signed on both faces of the tang and with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers. Presented in shirasaya.
Terukado, holding the title Tanba no Kami, was a Mino smith who worked around the Manji era and also forged in Ise and Edo. This katana has a nagasa of 71.0 cm and a very shallow sori of 0.6 cm: shinogi-zukuri, iori-mune, a wide and thick blade with marked taper and a chū-kissaki. According to the original seller, the jigane is a well-forged itame with ji-nie and chikei, and the hamon a suguha leaning to a gentle notare with ko-gunome, ko-ashi, nie and kinsuji, widening slightly towards the monouchi; the bōshi turns back in ko-maru. The tang has been shortened: according to the seller, the machi was moved up by one sun and the tip trimmed; it keeps two mekugi-ana and the signature. The omote reads 丹波守藤原照門 (Tanba no Kami Fujiwara Terukado) and the ura 於関善定作之 (Seki ni oite Zenjō kore o saku), an inscription that links the smith to the Zenjō school of Seki. The blade is kept in shirasaya, with a one-piece copper habaki and a cloth bag, and the original seller states NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers issued in 2018.
Strong points
- Signed on both faces: 丹波守藤原照門 (Tanba no Kami Fujiwara Terukado) and 於関善定作之 (Seki ni oite Zenjō kore o saku)
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers (2018), according to the original seller
- Robust 71.0 cm blade with good width and thickness (motohaba 3.22 cm, motokasane 0.68 cm)
- Ura inscription of documentary interest for the smith's lineage and his link to the Zenjō school
Points to bear in mind
- Suriage tang: machi moved up and tip trimmed, according to the original seller; the signature is preserved
- The original seller declares a lengthwise scuff on the omote, near the monouchi
- No mounting: presented only in shirasaya, whose tsuka bears a mark near the mekugi-ana according to the seller
- The NBTHK paper does not appear in the photographs
Score
65 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
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Tang
−20
Shortened tang (suriage) −20
-
Declared condition
−10
The original seller declares flaws 0 · minor flaws −10
-
Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
-
Mounting
−15
No mounting −15
-
Blade
+10
71 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
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Price
+30
Price: the more affordable, the more points +30
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 cm
- Sori
- 0.6 cm
- Tang
- Shortened tang (suriage)
- Certificate
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
- Mounting
- No mounting
- Storage shirasaya
- Yes
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Manji era (1658–1661)
- Province
- Ise
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Minor flaws declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
- Motohaba
- 3,22 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,20 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,68 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,46 cm
- Blade weight
- 718 g