Kantei

NH-0532 Rank 38

Tsuba · Hamano Masayuki

浜野政随 (Hamano Masayuki)

Iron tsuba with a pine grove in mist, carved in sukidashi-bori with gold nunome, signed by Hamano Masayuki at the age of seventy. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaMid-Edo (1688–1781)Mid-Edo period (c. 1765)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Iron tsuba of tate-maru shape, signed 半圭子 (Hankeishi) on the obverse and 行年七十才政随 (gyōnen shichijissai Masayuki) on the reverse, meaning “Masayuki, aged seventy”. Hamano Masayuki (1696–1769), whose name is also read Shōzui, studied under Nara Toshinaga and founded the Hamano school, one of the great lines of Edo machibori; Hankeishi is one of his art names. The subject is a pine grove in mist (kasumi shōrin-zu). On the obverse the pine crowns are carved in sukidashi-bori, with the needles chiselled in tufts; on the reverse the design continues with the trunks. The mist is a band of gold nunome-zōgan that runs across both faces. The rim is uchikaeshi-mimi. According to the original seller it measures 73.7 × 70.7 mm, is 3.7 mm thick and weighs 96 g. The photographs show a dark, stable iron patina. Part of the nunome gold has been lost, as is usual with this technique, and there are a few small brown rust spots on the reverse and copper sekigane in the central opening. The 2023 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper confirms the signature. The original seller states that it comes in a paulownia box.

Strong points

  • Signature of the founder of the Hamano school, confirmed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper
  • Late work, signed at the maker’s age of seventy
  • Signed on both faces, using the art name Hankeishi
  • Pines carved with finely chiselled needles
  • Gold nunome-zōgan mist linking both faces

Points to bear in mind

  • Some of the nunome gold has been lost
  • Small brown rust spots on the reverse
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening

Score breakdown

66.8/100

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.

  1. Maker 25 of 25 Genuine signature of a first-rank master, confirmed by the paper
  2. Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
  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 1.8 of 10 Rank 187 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest