NH-0712 Rank 347
Tsuba · Ko-Kinkō
Unsigned yamagane tsuba with a nanako ground, oak branches with acorns in relief and gold dew-drops, attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Kinkō school (Tokubetsu Hozon).
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned (mumei) tsuba attributed by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu paper to the Ko-Kinkō school (古金工, Ko-Kinkō), the soft-metal craftsmen active before the Edo period. It is of six-lobed mokkō shape (六ツ木瓜形, mutsu-mokkō-gata) and made of yamagane, a dark, unrefined copper, on a nanako ground. Both faces carry oak branches with leaves and acorns (橡栗図, probable reading: shōritsu-zu) in sukidashibori (鋤出彫), a relief obtained by cutting back the ground, scattered with gold dew-drops in zōgan; the paper mentions gold and silver dew-drops with iroe. The rim is sukinokoshi-mimi (鋤残耳), left standing as the ground was cut away. The photographs show both faces and the edge: an old dark patina, the gold drops almost all in place, wear to the nanako and to the high points of the relief with some lighter patches, and a few green spots on the edge. A metal fitting strip (sekigane) is visible along one side of the central opening. The original seller places it in the Azuchi-Momoyama period and gives 8.62 × 8.22 cm, 0.36 cm thick and 160 g; it comes in a paulownia wood box. Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu paper no. 2004381, dated December 2017.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu paper, attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school
- Yamagane with a nanako ground and sukidashibori relief on both faces
- Dozens of gold dew-drops in zōgan across leaves and acorns
- Six-lobed mokkō shape with a sukinokoshi-mimi rim
- Early work, placed by the original seller in the Azuchi-Momoyama period
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker attribution
- Visible wear to the nanako and the high points of the relief, with lighter patches
- A few green copper-oxide spots on the edge and a sekigane strip in the central opening
- The period is stated by the original seller; the paper does not give it
Score breakdown
47.4/100
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 4.4 of 10 Rank 128 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest