NH-0664 Rank 259
Tsuba · Ko-Shōami
Round pierced iron tsuba with the horse-bit (kutsuwa) motif, unsigned and attributed to the Ko-Shōami school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned (mumei) round (marugata) iron tsuba, attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Shōami school, the early branch of the Shōami. The openwork (ji-sukashi) depicts a kutsuwa, the horse bit with its rings: four cross-barred wheels linked by a chain of pierced links, in a symmetrical composition enclosed by an outer ring with a squared, slightly rounded rim (kaku-mimi ko-niku). The seppa-dai is broad, as is typical of the school. According to the original seller it measures 8.7 × 8.7 cm, 0.4 cm thick. The iron, dense and showing hammer texture, keeps a dark, stable patina with no visible active rust. The photographs show only tiny specks of gold on the rim: the nunome overlay recorded by the paper as zōgan has almost entirely worn away over time. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2010980, dated 26 September 2024, describes it as a pierced kutsuwa tsuba, unsigned, Ko-Shōami. It comes with a paulownia wood box without an expert inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper (2024) visible in the photographs
- Attributed to the Ko-Shōami school, late Muromachi or Momoyama
- Clean, well-proportioned symmetrical kutsuwa openwork
- Good-quality iron with a dark, stable patina
- Front, back and rim well photographed
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named maker
- The gold overlay is almost lost; only specks remain on the rim
- Irregular edges to the central opening, with possible remains of old fillers
- The period is stated by the original seller; the paper does not give it
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 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 9 of 18 Visible wear
- Period 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 9.2 of 10 Rank 19 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest