Kantei

NH-0766 Rank 182

Tsuba · Hikozō (Higo)

彦三 (Hikozō)

Unsigned suaka tsuba with okina-yasuri file work and an Odawara-style brass fukurin, attributed to Hikozō by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaEarly Edo (1615–1688)Early Edo period (early 17th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

A nadekaku (rounded-square) tsuba attributed to Hikozō, one of the great masters of the Higo school, active in the late Momoyama and early Edo periods and regarded as the founder of the Hirata line in that domain. The plate is suaka (copper), its surface worked with okina-yasuri, fine concentric file lines that give the piece the restrained, austere wabi feeling so characteristic of the Higo workshops. The seppa-dai carries a border of small hammered bosses around the central opening, the two hitsu-ana have a double-gourd outline, and the rim is capped with a granulated brass fukurin in the Odawara manner. According to the original seller it measures 78.6 × 77.7 mm and 5 mm thick. The photographs show an old, dark and uneven patina with fine scuffs and a vertical line on the reverse, with no active rust or cracks. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper (no. 2001874, October 2014) records it as mumei and attributes it to Hikozō. The piece is published in the Higo Kinkō Taikan (no. 172) and in the catalogue of the third exhibition on Higo metalwork held in Kumamoto (no. 54), and it comes with a wooden box and a brocade pouch.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, attributed to Hikozō
  • Work of one of the founding masters of the Higo school
  • Okina-yasuri and Odawara-style brass fukurin, hallmarks of the maker
  • Published in two reference works on Higo metalwork
  • With wooden box and brocade pouch

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: an attribution by the paper, not a signed work
  • Fine scuffs and a vertical line on the reverse; little of the original lacquer survives
  • The publications describe the ground as brass, the paper as suaka

Score breakdown

57.4/100

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.

  1. Maker 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
  2. Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
  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 0.4 of 10 Rank 220 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest