NH-0646 Rank 261
Tsuba · Kamiyoshi Fukanobu
神吉深信 (Kamiyoshi Fukanobu)
Unsigned Higo iron tsuba with three pierced pine trees inside an undulating rim; the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributes it to Kamiyoshi Fukanobu.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned iron tsuba, attributed by its NBTHK paper to Kamiyoshi Fukanobu, second generation of the Kamiyoshi family, one of the last great houses of Higo metalwork; the original seller gives his dates as 1798 to 1851. The motif is 三蓋松 (sangai-matsu), a stylised pine with three tiers of branches, worked in ji-sukashi: the seppa-dai flows into the trunk and the foliage hangs within an undulating, rounded rim (maru-mimi), with a single half-moon hitsu-ana. The pine needles are engraved in fine kebori. The polished iron (migaki-ji) shows in the photographs an even, stable dark brown patina with no visible red rust, and a clean edge. There are yellow-metal sekigane in the central opening. According to the original seller it measures 7.8 × 7.7 cm, 0.5 cm thick at the seppa-dai, and it is kept in a paulownia wood box. The 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu) paper no. 2002858, dated 19 November 2015, describes it as kawari-gata, polished iron, ji-sukashi, kebori and maru-mimi.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to Kamiyoshi Fukanobu
- Kamiyoshi school, one of the leading houses of Higo
- Ji-sukashi composition of three pines inside an undulating rim
- Pine needles engraved in fine kebori
- Polished iron with a stable dark patina
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship rests on the paper's attribution
- Yellow-metal sekigane in the central opening
- Dimensions and box as stated by the original seller
Score breakdown
52.2/100
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 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 4.2 of 10 Rank 133 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest