NH-0809 Rank 108
Fuchi-kashira · Saitō Masaoki
斎藤正興 (Saitō Masaoki)
Polished shibuichi fuchi-kashira depicting the battle of Gojōgen from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in gold, shakudō, copper and silver high relief, signed Saitō Masaoki, with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Fuchi-kashira signed on the tenjō of the fuchi 鳳鳴堂斎藤正興 (Hōmeidō Saitō Masaoki), with kaō. According to the original seller, Saitō Masaoki was a pupil of Ichinomiya Nagatsune and worked in Kyoto. The subject is the battle of Gojōgen (the Wuzhang Plains) from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: on the kashira, a war chariot with a figure inside, encircled by a golden dragon; on the fuchi, a procession with a rider, a groom leading the horse, a standard-bearer, a horn player and a pine with golden foliage. The ground is polished shibuichi; the figures are carved in high relief with inlays of gold, shakudō, copper and silver, and very fine kebori on the dragon's scales and the horse's mane. The photographs show the patina and gilding well preserved, with only light handling marks on the ground of the fuchi. The NBTHK paper, 特別保存刀装具 (tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu) no. 2009526, dated 4 April 2023, records it as 五丈原図縁頭 (Gojōgen-zu fuchi-gashira) with 銘 (mei) and describes 四分一磨地 (shibuichi migaki-ji), 鋤出高彫 (sukidashi takabori) and 象嵌色絵 (zōgan iroe). It comes in a fitted paulownia box.
Strong points
- Full signature with kaō, confirmed by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers
- Narrative Three Kingdoms scene running around the whole fuchi
- Golden dragon in high relief with very fine kebori on the scales
- Rich palette: gold, shakudō, copper and silver on polished shibuichi
- Patina and gilding well preserved
Points to bear in mind
- The dating comes from the original seller's description and the style; the paper does not state it
- Light handling marks on the shibuichi ground of the fuchi
- One of the photographs shows another pair on the same theme that is not part of this piece
Score breakdown
60.5/100
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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 1.5 of 10 Rank 23 of 27 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest