Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round pierced iron tsuba, unsigned and attributed to the Ko-Shōami school, showing an ichime-gasa hat, a treasure bag and two horizontal bars. Muromachi period according to the original seller.
Mumei tsuba attributed to the Ko-Shōami school, one of the earliest to work pierced iron guards. The photographs show a round (maru-gata) iron tsuba in ji-sukashi: the design is left in positive and the ground is cut away. At the top is an ichime-gasa, the wide-brimmed hat worn by court ladies; below, a takara-bukuro or treasure bag; and two parallel bars (nibiki-ryō) run from rim to rim, strengthening the piece and steadying the composition. An oval ring flanks the seppa-dai on the left. The iron is dark brown, with a granular surface and an old patina that appears stable; no active rust or cracks are visible. According to the original seller it measures 79.8 × 80 mm, 4 mm thick at the seppa-dai, and comes in a paulownia box. The seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Pierced iron in ji-sukashi by the Ko-Shōami school
- Restrained design: ichime-gasa, treasure bag and two horizontal bars
- Old patina of stable appearance, no visible active rust
- Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not an individual maker
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- Only the front is photographed; back and rim are not visible
Score
58.1 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 9.1 of 10 Rank 31 of 330 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest
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.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- School
- Ko-Shōami
- Period
- Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork)
- Dating
- Muromachi period (15th–16th century)