NH-0603 Rank 367
Tsuba · Satsuma
Unsigned shakudō tsuba with a nanako ground and kutsuwa-mon crests in gold and shakudō, attributed to the Satsuma school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba attributed by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper to the metalworkers of Satsuma. The paper titles it 轡紋散図鐔 (kutsuwa-mon chirashi-zu tsuba), a tsuba with scattered kutsuwa crests, and describes it as 木瓜形 (mokkō-gata), 赤銅魚子地 (shakudō nanako-ji), 高彫 (takabori), 色絵 (iroe) and 丸耳 (marumimi). The photographs show a lobed shakudō plate entirely covered in fine, even nanako laid out in concentric circles, with a rounded rim. The obverse carries two circular crests with a cross (maru ni jūji) in relief, one in gold and one in polished shakudō; the reverse repeats a gold crest. The seppa-dai is plain and the plate has a single oval hitsu-ana. According to the original seller it measures 72.6 × 66.4 mm and 5.2 mm thick, and it would have come from the mounting of a high-ranking samurai of the Satsuma domain, where shakudō tsuba are uncommon. Condition is good: the nanako grains remain crisp and the black patina is even; a small, slightly lighter area is visible in the lower part of the reverse. It comes in a wooden box with a silk cushion, with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2011690 (30 September 2025)
- Fine, even nanako ground on both faces
- Contrasting crests in gold and polished shakudō
- Shakudō work attributed to Satsuma, uncommon in that province according to the original seller
- Wooden box with cushion
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Satsuma school, not to an individual maker
- The paper gives no period; late Edo is inferred from the style
- No photograph of the rim; a small lighter area is visible on the reverse
Score breakdown
43.8/100
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 1.8 of 10 Rank 188 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest