Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned round, thin iron tsuba attributed to the Ko-Tōshō school, with a simple openwork of a bamboo leaf and a plum blossom. Muromachi period according to the original seller.
Unsigned tsuba attributed to the Ko-Tōshō school, the earliest group of iron guards, traditionally associated with the swordsmiths of the Nanbokuchō and Muromachi periods. The photographs show a round iron plate of large diameter and very thin section, without relief or inlay, pierced in negative silhouette with a bamboo leaf, its central rib left in the metal, and a small five-petalled plum blossom. The original seller identifies the motif as saikan niga (歳寒二雅, saikan niga), the 'two friends of the cold': bamboo and plum enduring the winter, a theme favoured by literati painters. According to the original seller it measures 8.5 × 8.5 cm with a thickness of 0.3 cm. The central opening is clean and the piece has no hitsu-ana. The surface shows a dark, stable patina with old pitting on both faces and a small nick on the upper edge of the central opening; no active rust or cracks are visible. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Ko-Tōshō school, among the earliest iron guards
- Austere openwork of bamboo and plum (saikan niga)
- Large, thin iron plate typical of the school
- Dark, stable patina with no visible active rust
- Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attributed to a school, not to a maker
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- Old surface pitting on both faces and a small nick by the central opening
- The dating rests on the seller's declaration and on style
Score
53.8 / 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 4.8 of 10 Rank 172 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-Tōshō
- Period
- Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork)
- Dating
- Muromachi period (14th–16th century)