Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned shakudō kōgai with a nanako ground and a turnip and daikon radish in gold-covered takabori, attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school of the Momoyama period.
Unsigned kōgai attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school (古金工, Ko-Kinkō), the early metalworkers who preceded the wide spread of the Gotō school. The body is shakudō with a nanako ground, on which a turnip and a daikon radish with their leaves stand apart, carved in takabori from the metal itself and covered with a thin gold sheet applied in the fukuro-kise technique (袋着せ, fukuro-kise). A gold warabite (蕨手, warabite) scroll sits near the upper end. The motif, a symbol of prosperity, became common in later periods; here it appears in an early, simple version. The nanako and chiselling have a somewhat rough, vigorous hand typical of these early workshops. The photographs show a stable black patina without rust, with losses of gold along the edges and high points of the relief. The reverse is plain. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a paulownia box, neither of which appears in the photographs, and notes that the tip of the shaft seems to have been shortened.
Strong points
- Ko-Kinkō school, Momoyama period according to the original seller
- Shakudō with nanako ground and gold-covered takabori (fukuro-kise)
- Turnip and daikon motif, a prosperity symbol, in an early version
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named maker
- Gold lost along the edges and high points of the relief
- According to the original seller, the tip of the shaft was shortened
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
Score
53 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 9 of 18 Visible wear
- Period 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 10 of 10 Rank 1 of 14 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
- Kōgai
- School
- Ko-Kinkō
- Period
- Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Material
- Shakudō, Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Nanako (fish-roe ground), Takabori (high relief), Other technique
- Dating
- Momoyama period (late 16th century)