Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron tsuba signed 一柳齋正光作 (Ichiryūsai Masamitsu saku), of the Aizu Shōami school, with two horses galloping beneath a pine in gold and shakudō takabori.
Iron tsuba of slightly upright round shape (tate-maru-gata), signed on the reverse 一柳齋正光作 (Ichiryūsai Masamitsu saku), an artist of the Aizu Shōami school active at the end of the Edo period. The front shows two horses playing at the gallop beneath a pine: one in gold and one in dark shakudō, carved in takabori with inlaid eyes, among tufts of dwarf bamboo with gold leaves and pine branches whose needles are touched with gold. The reverse carries a river landscape in low relief and kebori: a winding stream, autumn grasses in gold and copper iroe and, in the distance, a village among trees. The kōgai hitsu-ana is closed with a cloud-shaped shakudō plug. According to the original seller it measures 78.6 × 75.3 mm, with a square mimi of 4.5 mm. The photographs show a dark, stable patina, the gold of the reliefs intact and a few superficial reddish areas on the iron, with no visible active rust. The original seller declares an NBTHK 特別保存刀装具 (tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu) paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Clear, complete signature on the reverse
- Two horses in gold and shakudō takabori with inlaid eyes
- A different scene on each face: pine and horses, river landscape
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- Superficial reddish areas on the iron of the front
- Remains of filler metal in the kozuka hitsu-ana
Score
56.5 / 100
- Maker 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 4.5 of 10 Rank 181 of 330 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest
The score shares out 100 points: Maker 25 · Workmanship 20 · Condition 18 · Period 12 · Paper 10 · Extras 5 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. Maker, workmanship, condition and period are judged from the photographs and the paper; price is compared only with fittings of the same type.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- Maker
- Ichiryūsai Masamitsu
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron, Gold, Shakudō, Copper
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Aizu Shōami
- Inscription
- 一柳齋正光作 (Ichiryūsai Masamitsu saku)
- Technique
- Takabori (high relief), Zōgan (inlay), Iroe (coloured inlay), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)