Kantei

NH-0643 Rank 353

Tsuba · Kyō-sukashi

Round pierced iron tsuba of the Kyō-sukashi school, unsigned, with a reeds and wild geese (ashi-kari) motif. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo period (not precisely dated)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Mumei tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Kyō-sukashi school, the iron piercers of Kyoto (Yamashiro province). The paper describes it as an ashi-kari sukashi tsuba: the whole ground is pierced (ji-sukashi), leaving a network of slender bridges in which stylised geese in flight among reeds can be read. Round shape (marugata), iron plate (tetsuji) and a square rim with slight rounding (kaku-mimi ko-niku). According to the original seller it measures 7.55 × 7.59 cm, with a seppa-dai thickness of 0.6 cm, and weighs 84.5 g. The photographs show a dark, stable iron patina with brownish tones inside the openings, with no active rust or cracks; the rim is sound and the seppa-dai shows the roughness and wear expected from use. The central opening is fitted with copper sekigane. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, number 2011790, dated 30 September 2025, and a fabric-lined wooden box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025)
  • Fully pierced ground with reeds and geese (ashi-kari) motif
  • Iron with a dark, stable patina
  • Photographed on both faces and the rim

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker attribution
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • The paper gives no period and the piece is undated

Score breakdown

46.8/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 4.8 of 10 Rank 120 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest