Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Takada school katana from Bungo, signed by Taira Akimori and dated 1547, in shirasaya and with a han-tachi mounting; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper.
Katana signed 平鑑盛 (Taira Akimori) on the omote of the tang and dated on the ura 天文十六年二月日 (Tenbun jūroku-nen nigatsu hi), that is, the 2nd month of Tenbun 16 (1547), in the midst of the Sengoku period. According to the original seller, Taira Akimori worked in the Takada school of Bungo Province in the late Muromachi period, is held to be the same smith as the second-generation Nagamori, and is believed to have received the character 鑑 (aki) from the daimyō Ōtomo Yoshiaki. The blade measures 73.93 cm in nagasa with 2.36 cm of sori and a slightly elongated kissaki; the seller describes a well-forged ko-itame and a continuous gunome-midare with fine ashi, which the close-ups allow one to see. The photographs show a tang that appears intact, with a single mekugi-ana. The blade comes in shirasaya and with a han-tachi style mounting: tachi-type tsuba, shakudō nanako fuchi-kashira, high-relief dragon menuki and a dark brown saya decorated with a dragon in black lacquer, described by the seller without a date. Double gold-foiled habaki. It holds an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, no. 155325, issued in 2011.
Strong points
- Signed and dated 1547: a documented kotō work of the Sengoku period
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (no. 155325)
- Tang shown intact in the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
- Supplied in shirasaya and with a han-tachi mounting
- Double gold-foiled habaki
Points to bear in mind
- The listing says nothing about the condition or polish of the blade
- The mounting is described, but the seller does not date it and it has no papers of its own
Score
124.7 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
−20
The original seller says nothing about the condition −20
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+5
Mounting described, undated +5
-
Blade
+10
73.9 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+29.7
Price: the more affordable, the more points +29.7
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
- 73.9 cm
- Sori
- 2.4 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
- Taira Akimori
- Period
- Kotō (up to 1596)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Tenbun 16 (1547)
- Province
- Bungo
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Condition not declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,00 cm
- Sakihaba
- 1,87 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,76 cm
- Blade weight
- 750 g
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