Kantei

NH-0836 Rank 334

Mitokoromono · Waki Gotō

Three-part set —kozuka, kōgai and a pair of menuki— in shakudō and gold depicting the twelve zodiac animals, attributed to the Waki Gotō by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

Mitokoromono (menuki, kozuka and kōgai)Late Edo (1781–1868)Late Edo period (18th–19th century, by style)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

A complete, unsigned mitokoromono attributed by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the Waki Gotō, the side branches of the Gotō family. The theme is the 十二支 (jūnishi), the twelve animals of the zodiac, spread across the four pieces: one menuki joins the dragon and the tiger; the other, the horse, the monkey and the boar; the kozuka carries the rat, the ox, the snake and the hare; and the kōgai, the rooster, the goat and the dog. The kozuka and kōgai are shakudō with an even nanako ground, the figures worked in takabori, inlaid and heightened in gold (iroe); the menuki are carved in the round in shakudō with gold details, the dragon's scales and the tiger's stripes finely chiselled. The kōgai body and the kozuka back are gilt with a fine linear texture. The photographs show a dark, even shakudō patina with no sign of repatination; the gilding has light wear from use, and the hollow backs of the menuki retain some dirt and small spots of stable verdigris. The set is presented in a lined wooden box. The paper, dated 2023, confirms the set as a unified mitokoromono.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, photographed and legible
  • All twelve zodiac animals distributed across the four pieces
  • Shakudō with nanako ground, takabori and gold iroe in orthodox Gotō style
  • Menuki carved in the round with very fine detail on the dragon and tiger
  • Complete set presented in its wooden box

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the paper attributes it to a school group (Waki Gotō), not to an individual master
  • Light wear to the gilding of the kōgai and the kozuka back
  • Dirt and small verdigris spots inside the menuki
  • The paper gives no period; the late Edo dating is stylistic

Score breakdown

48.2/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 6.2 of 10 Rank 6 of 14 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest