Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned round suaka tsuba attributed to the Kaga school, with chrysanthemums and autumn insects beside a brushwood fence in polychrome hira-zōgan.
Mumei tsuba attributed to the Kaga inlay workshops, known as Kaga zōgan and renowned for their flat compositions in coloured metals. The theme, 籬に菊秋虫図 (magaki ni kiku akimushi zu), shows chrysanthemums and autumn grasses growing beside bundled brushwood, with crickets among the leaves. The round suaka (copper) plate has a very fine ishime ground; the design is worked in hira-zōgan of shakudō, shibuichi in several tones and silver, with veins and bindings finished in kebori, and continues on the reverse in a mirrored composition. According to the original seller it measures 76 × 74 mm, 4.7 mm at the seppa-dai, and comes in a paulownia box. The photographs show a warm, even patina, fine scratches and some pitting on the ground, and a small verdigris spot near the rim on the reverse. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to Kaga zōgan, which is not photographed.
Strong points
- Polychrome hira-zōgan in shakudō, shibuichi and silver on suaka
- Autumn composition on both faces, of literary inspiration
- Fine ishime ground and kebori detailing
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- Small verdigris spot and fine scratches on the reverse
- Sekigane in the central opening
Score
47.9 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 5.9 of 10 Rank 136 of 330 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest
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.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- School
- Kaga zōgan (加賀象嵌, Kaga zōgan)
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Copper, Silver, Shakudō, Shibuichi
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Zōgan (inlay), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)