Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Large, thin round tsuba of hammered iron, unsigned and attributed to the Ko-Kacchūshi school, with six undulating motifs pierced in negative silhouette. Muromachi period.
Unsigned (mumei) tsuba attributed by the original seller to the Ko-Kacchūshi school, the early armourers who forged iron guards in times of war. It is a large, thin maru-gata piece: the original seller gives 94.5 × 93.6 mm, with a thickness of 2.4 mm at the seppa-dai and 2.6 mm at the rim. The photographs show a dense, richly textured hammered iron surface (tsuchime-ji) pierced with six undulating motifs in negative silhouette (kage-sukashi), which may be read as clouds or as petals, arranged around the central opening with a single oval hitsu-ana. The pierced lines are fine and assured, and the abstract, entirely curvilinear composition has the strength typical of guards made for actual use. The slightly thickened rim corresponds to the uchikaeshi-mimi described by the seller. The patina is dark and stable, with no active rust, cracks or knocks visible. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, which does not appear in the photographs, and a paulownia box; the piece is presented in a wooden frame.
Strong points
- Hammered iron (tsuchime-ji) of strong character
- Six abstract motifs pierced in negative silhouette (kage-sukashi)
- Large, thin format typical of early guards
- Dark, stable patina with no active rust
- Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attribution to a school, not to a maker
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- The dating rests on style and on the original seller's statement
Score
57.1 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 8.1 of 10 Rank 62 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
- Ko-Kacchūshi
- Period
- Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Other technique
- Dating
- Muromachi period (15th–16th century)