Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round polished-iron tsuba showing the winter plum and bamboo in low relief with gold, shakudō and copper inlay; signed Aizu Shōami according to the original seller.
Round iron tsuba with a polished surface (migaki-ji) and a dote-mimi rim, measuring 8.2 × 8.2 cm and about 0.52 cm thick according to the original seller. The theme is 歳寒二雅図 (saikan niga-zu), the two elegant companions of the winter cold: along the top, a flowering plum branch that continues onto the reverse, and at the lower right of the obverse a bank with bamboo shoots beside a stream, worked in low relief (usuniku-bori) with gold, shakudō and copper inlay; fine gold lines suggest drifting mist. The original seller describes it as signed 会津正阿弥 (Aizu Shōami), the branch of the Shōami school established in the Aizu domain of Mutsu province; in the photographs, of modest resolution, the signature cannot be read. The photographs show an even dark brown patina, with no visible active rust, and copper fillers (sekigane) in the central hole. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, which is not photographed.
Strong points
- Classic theme of winter plum and bamboo (saikan niga) on both faces
- Polished iron with gold, shakudō and copper inlay
- Aizu Shōami school signature declared by the original seller
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- The signature is not legible in the available photographs
- A school signature, not that of an identified master
- Copper sekigane in the central hole
Score
51.7 / 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 9.7 of 10 Rank 11 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
- Maker
- Aizu Shōami
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron, Shakudō, Gold, Copper
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Aizu Shōami
- Inscription
- 会津正阿弥 (Aizu Shōami)
- Technique
- Migaki (burnished), Zōgan (inlay), Other technique
- Dating
- Late Edo period (18th–19th century)