NH-0542 Rank 24
Tsuba · Sadamichi
定道 (Sadamichi)
Irregularly shaped iron tsuba, pierced and carved in relief with a coiled ox, signed 丹州田島住定道 (Tanshū Tajima-jū Sadamichi), with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Iron tsuba of irregular outline (kawari-gata) whose subject is an ox curled around the plate: its back and hindquarters form the rim, the head turns back towards the central opening, and the spaces between the animal's body are worked as ground piercing (ji-sukashi). The carving is in relief (nikubori) and the eye is inlaid in silver. The signature, beside the central opening, reads 丹州田島住定道 (Tanshū Tajima-jū Sadamichi). The NBTHK paper, Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu no. 2011140, dated 20 December 2024, records it as a pierced tsuba with oxen signed by Sadamichi and describes it as iron, with relief carving, ground piercing, inlay and a squared, slightly rounded rim. The photographs show a dark, even iron patina with no visible red rust, and copper fillers (sekigane) in the central opening. It comes in a paulownia box with an inscription (hakogaki) praising the work and placing it, on a probable reading, around the Enpō era (1673–1681). According to the original seller it measures 7.64 × 7.59 cm and weighs 156 g.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (no. 2011140, 2024)
- Signed: 丹州田島住定道 (Tanshū Tajima-jū Sadamichi)
- Encircling composition of an ox in pierced and relief-carved iron
- Eye inlaid in silver
- Paulownia box with hakogaki
Points to bear in mind
- Copper sekigane in the central opening, usual on a tsuba that has been mounted
- The dating to the Enpō era comes from the box inscription (probable reading); the paper does not date the piece
- The author of the hakogaki cannot be identified from the photographs
- Small photographs: condition can only be judged approximately
Score breakdown
69/100
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 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 2 of 5 Adds: box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
- Price 6 of 10 Rank 92 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest