NH-0699 Rank 368
Tsuba · Umetada
Early Edo iron tsuba of the Umetada school, with a square in kage-sukashi framed by gold nunome karakusa scrolls. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
An unsigned (mumei) tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Kyoto-based Umetada school and dated to the early Edo period. The paper titles it 角文透唐草図鐔 (kakumon-sukashi karakusa-zu tsuba): a guard with a pierced square and karakusa scrolls. The plate is tatemaru-gata in iron; the central square is drawn in kage-sukashi, fine slits cutting it out in silhouette, and it is bordered by a continuous band of karakusa scrolls in gold nunome-zōgan. The rim is a rounded dote-mimi with a linear geometric pattern in silver hira-zōgan. The photographs show a dark, stable patina with no active rust and old surface pitting; the gold survives almost entirely, whereas much of the silver on the rim has been lost. The central ana shows small fitting marks. The paper is a Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu issued in 2017. According to the original seller it measures 8.14 × 7.74 cm, 0.21 cm thick, weighs 85 g and comes in a paulownia box, which appears in the photographs with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, attributed to the Umetada school
- Early Edo period according to the paper
- Gold nunome-zōgan karakusa scrolls almost intact
- Restrained kage-sukashi design with dote-mimi and silver hira-zōgan
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the school, not to a named master
- Much of the silver on the rim is lost
- Old, stable pitting on the iron surface
Score breakdown
42.2/100
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 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 1.2 of 10 Rank 200 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest