NH-0540 Rank 109
Tsuba · Nomura Kanetsune
野村包敦 (Nomura Kanetsune)
Openwork iron tsuba in high relief depicting the kyōgen play Tsurigitsune, signed by Nomura Kanetsune of Hikone, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A round iron tsuba, pierced and carved in high relief on both faces, depicting the kyōgen play Tsurigitsune ("Fox Trapping"). On the front, two hunters — one holding a staff behind his back, the other crouching by the snare — face the old fox in disguise, beneath a pine with gold needles, a brushwood fence, a hut and a moon emerging from clouds. The back shows a gold straw hat, a hunter seen from behind with his staff, leaves and vines. Faces and hands are in silver and copper, garments are inlaid with gold, and hair and fur are rendered with very fine line engraving. The signature, 干英子野村包敦製 江州彦根住 (Kaneishi Nomura Kanetsune sei, Gōshū Hikone-jū), is chiselled beside the central opening; Nomura Kanetsune worked in Hikone, Ōmi province, in a line close to the Sōheishi school. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper of 2019 accepts the signature. The photographs show a dark, stable iron patina with no active rust or knocks, and slight gold loss on some high points. The original seller places it around the Kyōhō era and states that it comes with a paulownia box.
Strong points
- Signed and accepted by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers
- Narrative scene from the kyōgen Tsurigitsune on both faces
- High relief with gold, silver and copper inlay
- Very fine engraving of hair, fur and pine needles
- Good condition: stable iron patina, no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- The paper transcribes the last character of the name differently from the original seller's reading of the signature
- Small losses of gilding on the high points of the fox figure and the hat
- The Kyōhō-era dating comes from the original seller; the paper gives no period
Score breakdown
60.5/100
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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 1.5 of 10 Rank 193 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest