NH-0517 Rank 258
Tsuba · Ko-Kinkō
Chrysanthemum-shaped shakudō tsuba with nanako ground, a large pierced tomoe and a gold rinpō wheel; unsigned and attributed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the Ko-Kinkō school.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned chrysanthemum-shaped (kikka-gata) tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Ko-Kinkō (古金工, Ko-Kinkō) school, the early soft-metal craftsmen who preceded the great flowering of the Edo period. The shakudō plate, with a fine and even nanako ground, is worked as an open flower whose petals radiate from the plain seppa-dai; a large pierced tomoe sweeps across the upper half, and a small rinpō (輪宝, rinpō) wheel, the Buddhist emblem of the Law, in gold iroe sits within a kagesukashi piercing. The rim is left in relief (sukinokoshi-mimi). The paper describes the work as sukidashibori, nikubori jisukashi, kagesukashi and iroe. The photographs show both faces and the rim: a dark, even patina, crisp nanako granules and intact gilding on the rinpō; the seppa-dai shows light mounting scuffs and the central opening retains small metal fillers (sekigane). The original seller places it in the Azuchi-Momoyama period and gives dimensions of 6.78 × 6.35 cm, 0.38 cm thick, 72 g; it comes in an uninscribed paulownia box. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2012145, dated March 2026.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (no. 2012145)
- Shakudō with fine, even nanako on every petal
- Chrysanthemum design with a large pierced tomoe and gold rinpō wheel
- Dark, even original patina
- Early work of the Ko-Kinkō school
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker
- The dating comes from the original seller and the style; the paper does not state it
- Light mounting scuffs on the seppa-dai
- Small sekigane in the central opening
Score breakdown
52.3/100
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 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 4.3 of 10 Rank 130 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest