NH-0672 Rank 309
Menuki · Gotō
Pair of shakudō menuki, each with two rhinoceroses carved in the round with gold eyes, unsigned and attributed to the Gotō school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
An unsigned pair of menuki, mumei (無銘), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Gotō family, the school that for centuries supplied the official fittings of the shōgun's household. The subject is the two rhinoceroses, nihiki sai-zu (二疋犀図): on each menuki two fantastic horned beasts with beaded saddle-cloths and scrolling tails intertwine at full gallop, in a lively and well-balanced composition. According to the paper they are made of shakudō, carved in the round with gold accents, shakudō-ji katachibori kin-iroe (赤銅地 容彫 金色絵); the photographs show a deep black shakudō, crisp relief and eyes picked out in gold. The hollowed backs retain their copper pegs. Condition is good: original patina intact, no visible knocks or cracks, with some pale deposits in the recesses of the backs. They come with a Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu), no. 2003306, dated May 2016. The original seller states they are kept in a paulownia wood box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2016)
- Paper attribution to the Gotō school
- Deep black shakudō with gold eyes
- Dynamic composition of two rhinoceroses on each menuki
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the attribution is to the Gotō school in general, not to a specific master
- The paper gives no period; dating is by style
- Pale old deposits in the recesses of the backs
Score breakdown
49.8/100
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.
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 3.8 of 10 Rank 14 of 22 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest