NH-0784 Rank 35
Mitokoromono · Gotō Renjō
後藤廉乗 (Gotō Renjō)
Set of kozuka, kōgai and a pair of menuki in shakudō and gold with the kizunagawa motif, attributed to Gotō Renjō, designated Jūyō Tōsōgu and accompanied by an origami by Gotō Mitsunori.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A complete unsigned mitokoromono (kozuka, kōgai and a pair of menuki), attributed by the NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu paper (44th session, 1998) to Gotō Renjō, tenth head of the main Gotō line, who moved the family from Kyoto to Edo. The motif is the kizunagawa, the leather strap of antique horse tack with its heavy cord and rings, an allusion to the equestrian arts of the samurai. On the kozuka and kōgai the design rises in high relief (takabori) from a very fine shakudō nanako ground, with gold and silver iroe; the backs and edges are sheathed in gold. The menuki repeat the theme, carved in the round in shakudō with gold and silver. The photographs show crisp pieces with no visible knocks or lost gilding. The set also retains an origami by Gotō Mitsunori, last head of the family, dated Ansei 6 (1859), attributing it to Renjō and valuing it at three mai and eight ryō; the Jūyō paper records it as an attachment. The set has been published in a reference work on tōsōgu subjects and, according to the original seller, comes in an inscribed paulownia box.
Strong points
- Designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK (44th session, 1998)
- Attributed to Gotō Renjō, 10th head of the main Gotō line
- Origami by Gotō Mitsunori dated 1859, a rare document in itself
- Shakudō nanako with takabori and gold and silver iroe; gold backs
- Complete, homogeneous set from a single workshop
Points to bear in mind
- All three pieces are mumei: the authorship is an attribution by the paper, not a signature
- The photographs of the pieces are small and do not allow close inspection of condition
- The box inscription is not clearly legible in the photographs
Score breakdown
67.1/100
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 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 8 of 10 NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Extras 5 of 5 Adds: complete set by the same maker and box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
- Price 3.1 of 10 Rank 10 of 14 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest