NH-0703 Rank 333
Tsuba · Shōnai
Unsigned round iron tsuba of the Shōnai school, with a wreath of ivy leaves inlaid in gold and copper. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Marugata iron tsuba, mumei, attributed by its paper to the Shōnai school (庄内, Shōnai), a fittings workshop of northern Japan. The paper titles it 蔦紋散図鍔 (tsuta-mon chirashi-zu tsuba): scattered ivy leaves. Fourteen leaves form a continuous wreath around the seppa-dai, inlaid in zōgan in golden and reddish copper tones, their veins finely engraved in kebori. The paper also records a polished iron ground, sukishitabori carving and a sukinokoshi-mimi rim, the raised border the photographs show all the way round. Oval kozuka hitsu-ana and lobed kōgai hitsu-ana. In the photographs the inlays are complete and brightly coloured; the iron has a granular surface with overall pitting, a dark patina and a few rust spots at the edge of the central opening, which is fitted with copper sekigane. Dimensions according to the original seller: 8.24 × 8.16 cm, 0.48 cm thick, 126 g. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2008056, dated December 2021.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2021)
- Wreath of fourteen ivy leaves inlaid in gold and copper
- Leaf veins finely engraved in kebori
- Raised sukinokoshi-mimi rim
- Both faces and several angled views photographed
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attributed to the Shōnai school, not to a specific maker
- Iron ground with overall pitting and rust spots at the edge of the central opening
- Copper sekigane in the central opening and a copper lining in one hitsu-ana
- Fine line on the seppa-dai, probably a forging seam, worth checking in hand
Score breakdown
48.2/100
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 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 6.2 of 10 Rank 87 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest