Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned pierced iron tsuba attributed to the Kyō-sukashi school: a chrysanthemum with radiating petals, leaves and two karigane (wild geese), from the mid-Edo period according to the original seller.
Mumei tsuba of tate-marugata shape (round, slightly taller than wide: 7.39 × 7.06 cm according to the original seller), attributed to the Kyō-sukashi school, the openwork makers of Kyoto. It depicts a chrysanthemum seen head-on, its fine radiating petals filling the whole field; over it lie chrysanthemum leaves in ji-sukashi, with a cut stem, and two karigane (stylised wild geese) pierced above and below, an autumn motif. The leaves retain a faint kebori of veins, visible in the close-up photographs. The iron has a smooth, dark surface, with two hitsu-ana, one of them cut in a cloud shape, and a kaku-mimi ko-niku rim; the original seller gives a thickness of about 5 mm and a weight of 79.33 g. The photographs show a dark, stable patina, with no active rust or broken spokes and edges softened by handling; the central opening carries copper sekigane. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a paulownia box; the paper does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Fine openwork of a radiating chrysanthemum with leaves and two karigane
- Iron with a dark, stable patina, well preserved
- Kebori veining on the leaves
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker
- The paper does not appear in the photographs
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- The dating comes from the original seller and from style, not from a photographed document
Score
53.6 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- 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 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 9.6 of 10 Rank 13 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
- Kyō-sukashi
- Period
- Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Mid-Edo period (18th century)