NH-0620 Rank 7
Kozuka · Gotō Teijō
後藤程乗 (Gotō Teijō)
Shakudō kozuka with a nanako ground and three long-tailed birds in takabori, the central one in gold, attributed to Gotō Teijō and with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Kozuka attributed to Gotō Teijō, ninth head of the main Gotō line, the school that worked for the shōgun's household for generations; according to the original seller he lived from 1603 to 1673. The reverse bears the engraved inscription 程乗作 光理（花押） (Teijō saku Mitsumasa kaō): an attestation signature (kiwame) with which Mitsumasa, a later head of the Gotō family, ascribes the work to Teijō and validates it with his kaō. According to the paper, the subject is 三羽尾長瑞鳥図 (sanwa onaga zuichō zu), three auspicious long-tailed birds in flight: two in black shakudō with gold eyes flank a central bird in gold, all in takabori with finely chiselled plumage. The ground is an even, crisp shakudō nanako across the whole plate. The photographs show the black patina intact, the gold without losses and only fine handling marks on the plain reverse. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu papers dated 10 May 2018 and a wooden box with a handwritten inscription (hakogaki).
Strong points
- Attributed to Gotō Teijō, ninth head of the main Gotō line
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu papers (2018)
- Shakudō nanako with three birds in takabori, the central one in gold
- Patina and gold very well preserved
- Wooden box with hakogaki
Points to bear in mind
- The inscription is an attestation signature (kiwame) engraved by a later head of the Gotō family, not Teijō's own signature
- Fine handling scratches on the plain reverse
- The piece is undated; Teijō's dates come from the original seller
- The writer of the hakogaki has not been securely identified
Score breakdown
73.3/100
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 25 of 25 Genuine signature of a first-rank master, confirmed by the paper
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 2 of 5 Adds: box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
- Price 4.3 of 10 Rank 34 of 59 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest