Kantei

NH-0702 Rank 317

Tsuba · Kumagaya school

Unsigned iron tsuba, attributed by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the Kumagaya school, with auspicious clouds and paulownia leaves inlaid in gold and silver.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Late Edo period (19th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Mumei tsuba of nadekaku shape (rounded square) in iron with a hammered ground (tsuchime-ji). The paper titles it 瑞雲花桐図鐔 (zuiun hanakiri-zu tsuba), "tsuba with auspicious clouds and paulownia flower", and attributes it to the 熊谷派 (Kumagaya-ha) school. On the front, curling clouds in sunken relief (sukidashi-bori) inlaid with gold frame the central opening, while three silvery paulownia leaves with chiselled veins spread across the lower part, accompanied by flowering sprays. The back repeats only the clouds, in two diagonal groups. Square rim with a slightly rounded section (kaku-mimi koniku). The photographs show a dark, stable iron patina without active rust, with the gold on the clouds somewhat worn on the high points and copper sekigane in the central opening. NBTHK paper 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu) no. 2007346, dated April 2021. According to the original seller it measures 8.63 × 8.14 cm, 0.42 cm thick, weighs 145 g and comes in a paulownia wood box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper
  • Paper attribution to the Kumagaya school
  • Auspicious clouds and paulownia theme in gold and silver
  • Hammered iron ground with a good, stable patina

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named maker
  • Gold on the clouds somewhat worn on the high points
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • Period inferred from style; the paper does not state it

Score breakdown

49.2/100

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.

  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 7.2 of 10 Rank 65 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest