Kantei

NH-0503 Rank 156

Tsuba · Ko-Kinko

Unsigned shakudō tsuba with a nanako ground and six gilt paulownia crests (kirimon) in takabori on each face, attributed to the Ko-Kinko school by a Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaMuromachi or earlier (before 1573)Muromachi period (1336–1573)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Unsigned tsuba attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Kinko school, the early soft-metal craftsmen who preceded the great Edo-period workshops. The theme, 桐紋散図 (kirimon chirashi zu), scatters six paulownia crests over each face around the central ana, worked in high relief (takabori) with gold colour inlay (iroe) and chiselled veining. The plate is shakudō of a deep black over a fine, regular nanako ground, upright oval in shape (tate-marugata) with a rounded rim (maru-mimi) and a single oval hitsu-ana. The original seller gives 57.8 × 53.2 mm, 3.7 mm thick and 73 g, and places it in the Muromachi period. The photographs show a stable black patina, crisp nanako and well-preserved gilding on the crests, with light wear on the high points. The seppa-dai has an uneven surface with small depressions and the central ana shows reworked edges, traces of earlier mountings; a few small greenish spots are visible on the rim. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu certificate, no. 2011495, dated 19 June 2025, which describes it as an unsigned Ko-Kinko tsuba in shakudō nanako with takabori and iroe.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025), visible in the photographs
  • Deep black shakudō with a fine, regular nanako ground
  • Twelve kirimon in takabori with well-preserved gold iroe
  • Ko-Kinko school, Muromachi period according to the original seller

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not an individual maker
  • Uneven seppa-dai and central ana with reworked edges from earlier mountings
  • Small greenish spots on the rim
  • The period is given by the original seller; the paper does not state it

Score breakdown

58.6/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 9.6 of 10 Rank 11 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest