Kantei

NH-0645 Rank 330

Tsuba · Bushū

Unsigned shakudō tsuba of the Bushū school, with a large pierced tomoe and a field densely covered with chrysanthemums in relief; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo period, probably late (19th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Unsigned tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Bushū school (武州, Bushū), active in Musashi province. The paper titles it 巴透押合菊図鍔 (tomoe-sukashi oshiai-giku-zu tsuba): a large pierced tomoe wraps around the seppa-dai while the rest of the plate is covered with chrysanthemums pressed against one another, their centres cross-hatched and each petal chiselled individually. The tate-marugata plate is of shakudō, worked in sukidashi-bori (relief obtained by cutting back the ground), with kage-sukashi piercing and a sukinokoshi-mimi rim carrying the same motif, as the paper describes and the photographs confirm. The original seller gives dimensions of 7.36 × 6.97 cm and a weight of 107 g. The photographs show an even, stable black patina, with no rust or cracks, the natural shine of handling on the high points of the petals, fine marks of use on the seppa-dai and copper sekigane in the central opening. It comes with a fabric-lined wooden box. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper dated 30 September 2025.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025)
  • Shakudō with an even black patina
  • Densely packed chrysanthemums (oshiai-giku) in sukidashi-bori over the whole plate
  • Large tomoe pierced in kage-sukashi
  • Decorated sukinokoshi-mimi rim

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Bushū school, not to a named maker
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • The paper does not state the period; it is inferred from style

Score breakdown

48.3/100

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.

  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 6.3 of 10 Rank 85 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest