Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Katana signed by Ōe Morikuni and dated Meiji 4 (1871), freshly polished, with shirasaya, a period koshirae and NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken papers.
Katana signed 磐州住大江守国 (Banshū-jū Ōe Morikuni) and dated 明治四年二月吉日 (Meiji yonen nigatsu kichijitsu), the second month of Meiji 4 (1871), in the closing years of the shinshintō period. Shinogi-zukuri blade with a nagasa of 70.6 cm and a sori of 1.2 cm, a motohaba of 3.22 cm and a motokasane of 0.72 cm. According to the original seller, the hamon is gunome-midare and the blade is freshly polished. The nakago, with a single mekugi-ana, appears intact in the photographs. It has a gilt copper habaki and comes with a shirasaya, a tsunagi and a koshirae that the original seller calls a period mounting and describes as follows: same with large nodules, tsuka wrapped in navy-blue ito, large iron fuchi-kashira with gold inlay, a round iron tsuba with gold-inlaid flowers, a black-lacquered saya and a light-brown sageo. The photographs show the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper. The original seller rates the condition of both blade and mounting as excellent.
Strong points
- Full signature and date: Meiji 4 (1871)
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper, visible in the photographs
- Recent polish according to the original seller
- Complete koshirae with an iron tsuba with gold flowers, plus shirasaya and tsunagi
- Nakago intact in the photographs, with a single mekugi-ana
Points to bear in mind
- The original seller calls the mounting a period one, but gives no precise date and it has no papers of its own.
- The photographs are few and small: the hamon and jigane cannot be seen in close-up.
Score
221.2 pointscurrent max. 255
-
Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
-
Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs +20
-
Declared condition
+50
Immaculate according to the original seller +40 · recent polish +10
-
Signature and date
+25
Signed and with an engraved date +25
-
Mounting
+35
Antique mounting, from another period than the blade +35
-
Blade
+10
70.6 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
-
Price
+26.2
Price: the more affordable, the more points +26.2
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
- 70.6 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
- Ōe Morikuni
- Period
- Shinshintō (1781-1876)
- Dating
- 2nd month of Meiji 4 (1871)
- Mekugi-ana
- 1
- Condition
- Recent polish declared by the seller at origin
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- Yes
- Motohaba
- 3,22 cm
- Sakihaba
- 2,44 cm
- Motokasane
- 0,72 cm
- Sakikasane
- 0,55 cm
- Blade weight
- 810 g
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