NH-0523 Rank 57
Kozuka · Gotō Sōjō
後藤宗乗 (Gotō Sōjō)
Shakudō nanako kozuka with two shishi and a peony in gold relief, attributed to Gotō Sōjō, designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK and accompanied by a 1646 origami by Gotō Teijō.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
An unsigned (mumei) kozuka attributed by its paper to Gotō Sōjō (1487–1564), second head of the main Gotō line, metalworkers in the service of the Ashikaga shōguns. The plate is shakudō with a fine, even nanako ground and depicts two shishi (lions) flanking a spray of peony, all in gold chiselled in takabori and applied to the ground; the rim is gold. The reverse is a gold plate with a fine diagonal file finish. According to the designation paper, the central peony is the work of Gotō Teijō, ninth head of the family, who issued an origami dated the third year of Shōhō (1646) attributing the piece to Sōjō and valuing it at two mai and three ryō of gold; that origami accompanies the piece and appears in the photographs. The original seller notes that it is signed with a form of Teijō's name used for only a few years. The NBTHK designated it Jūyō Tōsōgu at its 54th session (10 October 2008); the paper gives its size as 9.6 × 1.4 cm and places it in the mid-to-late Muromachi period. The photographs show the gold of the reliefs and rim intact and the nanako well preserved. It is kept in a wooden box with a brocade cover.
Strong points
- Designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK (54th session, 2008)
- Attributed to Gotō Sōjō, second head of the main Gotō line
- Origami by Gotō Teijō dated 1646
- Shakudō nanako with shishi and peony in gold takabori
- Solid gold back plate
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship is an attribution, not a signature
- According to the paper, the central peony is by Gotō Teijō (17th century), not by Sōjō
- The gold reverse shows fine file lines and minor handling marks
Score breakdown
64.2/100
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 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 8 of 10 NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 0.2 of 10 Rank 58 of 59 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest