Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron tsuba of the Chōshū school, signed 長州岡知賢 (Chōshū Oka Tomokata), with overlapping cherry blossoms carved in high relief on both faces.
Round iron tsuba signed 長州岡知賢 (Chōshū Oka Tomokata) on the seppa-dai of the front face. According to the original seller, Okamoto Tomokata was the fifth generation of the Okamoto family, one of the historic workshops of Nagato province, where the Mōri lords encouraged tsuba production, and he received a stipend as a domain craftsman. The theme is 押合桜図 (oshiai-zakura zu): cherry blossoms pressed against one another, covering the entire surface of both faces, carved in takabori on well-forged iron, with the petal veins in kebori and dotted stamens. The photographs show the piece free of active rust, cracks or knocks, with light rubbing on the raised petals. The original seller gives dimensions of 7.4 × 6.9 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm, and declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Signed 長州岡知賢 (Chōshū Oka Tomokata), legible signature on the seppa-dai
- Overlapping cherry-blossom composition covering both faces
- Takabori carving in iron with kebori details
- Good condition, no active rust or visible damage
- Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs; its level is as declared by the original seller
- Lighting against a red background makes the true patina colour hard to judge
- No photograph of the rim
- The period is inferred from the maker's generation, not from an inscribed date
Score
61.4 / 100
- Maker 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- 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 9.4 of 10 Rank 21 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
- Maker
- Okamoto Tomokata
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Chōshū Okamoto
- Inscription
- 長州岡知賢 (Chōshū Oka Tomokata)
- Technique
- Takabori (high relief), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (late 18th – 19th century)