Kantei

NH-0728 Rank 102

Tsuba · Umetada Munetake

埋忠宗武 (Umetada Munetake)

Round pierced iron tsuba with booklets and ginkgo leaves, decorated with gold inlay; signed by Umetada Munetake and accompanied by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaMid-Edo (1688–1781)Mid-Edo period (from c. 1688)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Marugata iron tsuba of the Umetada school, signed on the front of the seppa-dai 埋忠宗武作 (Umetada Munetake saku), on either side of the central ana. The theme, ichō chirashi sasshi, arranges overlapping booklets and folded sheets on the diagonal, with ginkgo leaves carved in relief (nikubori) and a pierced ground (ji-sukashi) within a round, square-edged rim. Each booklet carries a different gold-inlaid pattern: sayagata fret, flowered lozenge lattice, karakusa scrolls, autumn grasses and slanting streaks; on two of them a small applied strip of another metal stands for the title label. The photographs show both faces and the edge: a dark, stable patina with no visible red rust, and the gold virtually intact; the seppa-dai shows light wear from use. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper (no. 2010004, 10 October 2023) accepts the signature and describes the piece as a round iron tsuba with relief carving, pierced ground, inlay and a square rim of slight volume. According to the original seller it measures 8.86 × 8.85 cm, 0.48 cm thick, weighs 188 g, dates from the mid-Edo period (around 1688) and is kept in a paulownia wood box, whose inscribed lid appears in the photographs.

Strong points

  • Signature 埋忠宗武作 (Umetada Munetake saku) accepted by the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper
  • Composition of booklets and ginkgo leaves in openwork and relief
  • Fine and varied gold inlay, virtually intact
  • Dark, stable iron patina with no visible active rust
  • Wooden box with an inscribed lid

Points to bear in mind

  • The dating (mid-Edo, around 1688) comes from the original seller; the paper gives no period.
  • In the photographs, the box inscription bears no legible signature of an expert.
  • Light wear from use on the seppa-dai.

Score breakdown

60.9/100

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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
  2. Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
  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 1.9 of 10 Rank 184 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest