Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shintō katana of the Echizen school, signed Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo with the imperial chrysanthemum on the tang, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, a lacquered mounting and a shirasaya.
Kunikiyo worked in Echizen province in the early Edo period; according to the original seller, he trained under Horikawa Kunihiro in Kyoto and received the title Yamashiro no Kami in 1628. The original seller places the blade around the Kan'ei era and, on the strength of workmanship and signature, attributes it to the first generation. The blade measures 70.8 cm in nagasa with 1.1 cm of sori; the photographs show a broadly undulating hamon. The tang, which appears intact in the photographs with two mekugi-ana, is signed 山城守藤原國清 (Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo) and bears the engraved chrysanthemum, 菊紋 (kikumon). The NBTHK certified it Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken on 8 August Heisei 1 (1989), no. 120629. It comes with a mounting featuring an iron tsuba decorated with maple leaves on flowing water, menuki of autumn insects and grasses and a black-lacquered saya, which the original seller describes without dating, together with a wooden shirasaya.
Strong points
- Full signature 山城守藤原國清 (Yamashiro no Kami Fujiwara Kunikiyo) with the engraved imperial chrysanthemum
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōken paper (1989)
- Tang intact in the photographs, with two mekugi-ana
- Complete mounting with lacquered saya, plus a shirasaya
Points to bear in mind
- The original seller notes a couple of black rust spots on the blade
- The mounting is undated; its unmarked lacquer and clean, tight ito suggest it has been redone
- The first-generation attribution is the original seller's; the paper does not state a generation
Score
87.5 pointscurrent max. 255
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Certificate
+50
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50
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Tang
+20
Tang intact according to the photographs, with 2 mekugi-ana +20
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Declared condition
−20
The original seller declares flaws 0 · black rust (kuro-sabi) −20
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Signature and date
+15
Signed, with no engraved date +15
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Mounting
−10
Mounting described, undated +5 · relacquered saya −10 · rewrapped ito −5
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Blade
+10
70.8 cm: within the usable range +10
-
Shirasaya
+5
With a storage shirasaya +5
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Price
+17.5
Price: the more affordable, the more points +17.5
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
- 70.8 cm
- Sori
- 1.1 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
- Period
- Shintō (1596-1780)
- Dating
- Kan'ei era (1624–1644)
- Province
- Echizen
- Mekugi-ana
- 2
- Condition
- Minor flaws declared
- Signed
- Yes
- With an engraved date
- No
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