Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shakudō fuchi-kashira with crabs in high relief among reeds and water, signed 在哉 (Arichika), with a gold rim and a box inscribed by Amiya Sōemon.
Fuchi-kashira signed 在哉 (Arichika) on the copper tenjōgane of the fuchi. According to the original seller, Watanabe Arichika worked in Shōnai, Dewa province, was born in 1661, studied under Satō Chinkyū and lived to eighty-two. The theme is aquatic: crabs carved in full-bodied takabori, scattered almost as a pattern across the kashira and the fuchi, with reeds in relief and, on the back of the fuchi, a shoreline with small, lightly engraved waves. The photographs show a deep black shakudō with a finely granular matt ground (ishime), legs and claws detailed with the chisel point, a gold kobuchi (rim) on the fuchi and gilt shitodome on the sides of the kashira. Condition is good: an even, intact dark patina, a few light deposits and slight wear to the gold rim. It comes in a paulownia box with an inner-lid hakogaki by Amiya Sōemon, dated Shōwa kanoe-tora (1950), describing it as 力作 (rikisaku, a work of real effort). The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, which does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Clear signature 在哉 (Arichika) on the tenjōgane of the fuchi
- Crabs in takabori with finely detailed claws and legs
- Deep black shakudō with a gold rim
- Box with hakogaki by Amiya Sōemon calling it rikisaku
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The NBTHK paper is not shown in the photographs; it rests on the original seller's declaration
- Small surface deposits and slight wear to the gold rim
- The hakogaki dates from 1950: it dates the box, not the piece
Score
63.7 / 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 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 2 of 5 Adds: box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
- Price 7.7 of 10 Rank 11 of 45 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
- Fuchi-kashira
- Maker
- Arichika
- Period
- Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Material
- Shakudō, Gold, Copper
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Shōnai
- Inscription
- 在哉 (Arichika)
- Technique
- Takabori (high relief), Kebori (line engraving), Other technique
- Dating
- Mid-Edo period (late 17th – 18th century)
- Extras
- box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)