Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron tsuba signed 團隆一 (Dan Ryūichi), Mito school of the Meiji period, with a flight of butterflies in relief in shakudō, silver and gold.
Oval iron tsuba signed 團隆一 (Dan Ryūichi) on the seppa-dai beside the central opening; the first character is chiselled in a seal-style stroke. According to the original seller, Dan Ryūichi was a pupil of 滑川貞勝 (Namekawa Sadakatsu), himself a student of 萩谷勝平 (Hagiya Katsuhira), a leading figure among the Mito metalworkers of the late Edo and Meiji periods. The theme is 群蝶図 (gunchō-zu), a flight of butterflies: three on the front and two on the back, applied in takabori-zōgan of shakudō and silver with gold lines and dots, on an iron ground worked with radiating striations from the centre and finished with a lightly hammered mimi. It has an oval kozuka-ana and a lobed kōgai-ana. The photographs show the iron with a slightly mottled brown patina, no visible active rust, and all inlays intact. The original seller gives dimensions of 8.5 × 8.0 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm, and declares an NBTHK 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu) paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Signed 團隆一 (Dan Ryūichi), signature clearly legible in the photographs
- Flight of butterflies on both faces, in shakudō, silver and gold
- Iron ground with radiating striations and hammered rim
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- Slightly mottled iron patina on the upper part of the front
- The edge has not been photographed close up
Score
56.6 / 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 3 of 12 Meiji (1868–1912)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 6.6 of 10 Rank 113 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
- Dan Ryūichi
- Period
- Meiji (1868–1912)
- Material
- Iron, Shakudō, Silver, Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Mito
- Inscription
- 團隆一 (Dan Ryūichi)
- Technique
- Takabori (high relief), Zōgan (inlay), Iroe (coloured inlay), Other technique
- Dating
- Meiji period (1868–1912)