NH-0639 Rank 152
Tsuba · Ko-Kinkō
Unsigned yamagane tsuba of mokkō shape, its surface strewn with small circles and treated with yakite kusarashi, attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Kinkō school with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school, the early soft-metal work that predates the Edo period. The NBTHK paper titles it 丸紋図鐔 (marumon-zu tsuba), "tsuba with circle motif", and describes it as mokkō in shape, a plate of 山銅 (yamagane) with a surface in 焼手腐らし (yakite kusarashi) and a maru-mimi rim. The photographs show the whole plate covered with small punched circles, to which the fire treatment and controlled corrosion give a dark, granular texture of real character, best seen in the close-ups. There is a single hitsu-ana of unusual outline, which the original seller links to Muromachi-period work. It measures 72.5 × 71.9 mm, 3.7 mm thick, and weighs 109 g, according to the original seller. The patina is dark and old, with no sign of repatination; fine handling scratches are visible, as is an irregular metal filling around the central hole on both faces, an old adjustment. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2009722, dated 14 July 2023, and a fitted paulownia box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2023)
- Attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school, pre-Edo
- Yamagane with a highly expressive yakite kusarashi surface
- Small circle (marumon) motif over the entire plate
- Mokkō shape with a well-preserved maru-mimi rim
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attribution to a school, not to a maker
- Irregular metal filling around the central hole (old adjustment)
- Fine handling scratches on the surface
- The period is given by the original seller on stylistic grounds; the paper does not date it
Score breakdown
58.7/100
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 9.7 of 10 Rank 7 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest