NH-0751 Rank 274
Kozuka · Gotō
Shakudō nanako kozuka with a kemari player in silver takabori with gold accents, unsigned and attributed to the Gotō school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned kozuka attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Gotō school. The subject is kemari, the ancient courtly ball game: at the lower end of the omote stands a player in court dress, carved in silver takabori with gold details (iroe), while the ball appears as a small silver relief in the centre of the field. The ground is shakudō with fine, even nanako; the ura is plain shakudō and both ends are sheathed in gold, finished on the ura with the characteristic V-shaped edge. The photographs show a piece in good condition: intact nanako, black patina with no sign of repatination, the figure without losses and only light rubbing to the gold at the edges. It measures 9.70 × 1.42 cm according to the original seller. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2008578, dated 7 July 2022, which describes it as 蹴鞠図小柄 (kemari-zu kozuka), 無銘 (mumei), 後藤 (Gotō), 赤銅魚子地 (shakudō nanako-ji), 高彫 (takabori) and 色絵 (iroe). It is kept in an uninscribed paulownia box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper
- Attribution to the Gotō school
- Courtly kemari theme in silver takabori with gold iroe
- Fine, well-preserved shakudō nanako ground
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attributed to the school, not to a specific master
- The paper gives no date; the period is inferred from style
- Light rubbing to the gold at the ends
Score breakdown
51.7/100
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 9.7 of 10 Rank 3 of 59 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest