NH-0592 Rank 352
Tsuba · Hamano school
Unsigned shakudō tsuba attributed by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the Hamano school, showing Shiba Onkō breaking the water jar in high relief with gold and colour inlays.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A tatemarugata (竪丸形, tatemarugata) tsuba in shakudō with a granular ishime ground, unsigned and attributed by its paper to the Hamano school (浜野派, Hamano-ha), the workshop that grew out of the Nara school under Hamano Shōzui. The obverse depicts the tale of Shiba Onkō (Sima Guang), who as a boy smashed a large water jar to save a playmate who had fallen inside: the jar, the child peering over its rim, the fleeing friends and the water gushing out beneath a pine. The reverse shows a pavilion with a balustrade and a pine touched with gold. The carving is in sukidashi-takabori relief, with gold and copper inlays in iroe and a sukinokoshi-mimi rim. The photographs show a dark, even patina, the gold well preserved on the figures and no visible knocks or cracks; the rim is not shown. The original seller gives dimensions of 7.8 × 7.3 cm and 0.55 cm thickness. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2002277, dated 4 March 2015, describes it as 甕割温公図鐔 (Kamewari Onkō-zu tsuba), mumei, Hamano-ha.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2015), visible in the photographs
- Complete narrative scene of Shiba Onkō breaking the jar
- Shakudō ishime with high relief and gold and copper inlays
- Worked reverse with pavilion and pine
- Dark, even patina with no visible damage
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Hamano school, not to a specific master
- The photographs are small and do not show the rim
- The dating comes from the original seller and from style; the paper does not state it
Score breakdown
46.9/100
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 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 4.9 of 10 Rank 116 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest