NH-0740 Rank 87
Tsuba · Nishigaki Kanshirō
西垣勘四郎 (Nishigaki Kanshirō)
Openwork iron tsuba with a nage-giri paulownia, unsigned and attributed to Nishigaki Kanshirō, founder of the Nishigaki school of Higo; designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK in 2002.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned iron tsuba attributed by the NBTHK to Nishigaki Kanshirō, founder of the Nishigaki school, one of the four major schools of Higo metalworkers. According to the explanatory text of the designation, he was born in Keichō 18, studied under Hirata Hikozō and was influenced by Hosokawa Sansai Tadaoki, the tea master whose aesthetic shaped his guards. The piece shows a nage-giri paulownia in ji-sukashi openwork on a polished iron plate (migaki-ji) of chrysanthemum outline (kikka-gata), with a squared, lightly rounded rim, leaf veins in kebori and a single hitsu-ana for the kōgai, lined with gold semegane. It measures 8.3 × 8.1 cm, with a rim thickness of 0.4 cm. It was designated Jūyō Tōsōgu at the 48th NBTHK session (11 October 2002), certificate no. 1517, which dates it to the early Edo period. The photographs show both faces and the rim with a dark, even patina, with no active rust or visible damage. The piece is also published in the Higo Kinkō Taikan. The original seller states that it comes in a kiri box.
Strong points
- Designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK (48th session, 2002)
- Attributed to the first Nishigaki Kanshirō, founder of the school
- Nage-giri paulownia openwork on polished iron with chrysanthemum outline
- Gold semegane in the hitsu-ana
- Published in the Higo Kinkō Taikan
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship is an attribution by the paper, not a signature
- The photographs of the piece are a low-resolution collage that does not allow fine kebori or condition details to be judged
Score breakdown
61.6/100
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 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 8 of 10 NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 0.6 of 10 Rank 215 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest