NH-0505 Rank 191
Tsuba · Ko-Kinkō
Mokkō-gata shibuichi tsuba with flowering plum branches engraved on an ishime ground and scattered gold dots, attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school, with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Ko-Kinkō school, the early soft-metal workshops that preceded the Edo period. It is mokkō-shaped (four lobes) and, according to the paper, built of shibuichi in three layers (sanmai-jitate). Both faces show flowering plum branches spreading across the whole surface, engraved in kebori on a very even ishime ground, amid a shower of small inlaid gold dots like drops of dew; the original seller likens the design to the hem pattern of a kimono. The rim is rounded, with a dark fukurin the original seller describes as shakudō. It measures 71.6 × 79.5 mm, 6 mm thick and 162 g according to the original seller. The photographs show a dark, even patina with no rust or cracks, light wear on the petals and a couple of gold dots lost on the front; the back retains all of them. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2003491, dated June 2016.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper
- Paper attribution to the Ko-Kinkō school, pre-Edo
- Three-layer shibuichi construction with a finely worked ishime ground
- Plum branches in kebori with inlaid gold dots on both faces
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to a school, not a maker
- A couple of gold dots are missing on the front and the petals show light wear
- The Muromachi dating is given by the original seller; the paper does not state it
Score breakdown
56.8/100
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.
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 7.8 of 10 Rank 50 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest