NH-0605 Rank 240
Tsuba · Owari
Round pierced iron tsuba with four warabite motifs, unsigned, attributed to the Owari school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Round (marugata) iron tsuba, unsigned, attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Owari school. The paper names the design 四方蕨手透鐔 (shihō warabite sukashi tsuba): in the four quadrants, fern-shoot scrolls (warabite) joined to the rim by spokes, two turned stems above and below the seppa-dai, and two side openings, one lobed and one semicircular, serving as hitsu-ana. It is positive openwork (ji-sukashi) with thick, firm lines and a symmetrical composition, characteristic of the Owari school, active from the late Muromachi period. Square rim with little swelling (kaku-mimi ko-niku). According to the original seller it measures 8.13 × 8.07 cm, 0.52 cm thick at the seppa-dai, and weighs 119.8 g. The photographs show dark iron with a stable patina and visible surface texture, with no active red rust or cracks; remains of copper sekigane are present in the central opening. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2011981, dated 18 December 2025. Kept in a wooden box lined with green cloth, with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025)
- Classic Owari school openwork with four warabite motifs
- Iron with a dark, stable patina and no active rust
- Symmetrical composition with thick, firm lines
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the school only, not to a maker
- Remains of copper sekigane in the central opening
- The dating comes from the original seller and the style; the paper does not state it
Score breakdown
53.9/100
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 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- 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 117 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest