Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shakudō tsuba with a nanako ground and young-pine crests in takabori with gold iroe, signed by Tōunsai Watanabe Toshimitsu of the Tōryūsai school, late Edo period.
Tsuba of tate-maru (upright oval) shape, signed 東雲斎渡邊壽光作 (Tōunsai Watanabe Toshimitsu saku). Watanabe Toshimitsu was a pupil of Tōryūsai Kiyotoshi and worked in Edo in the late Edo period, known for designs with a strong naturalistic feel. The subject is a wakamatsu mon chirashi: six young-pine crests scattered over the plate, three picked out in gold iroe and three left in the shakudō itself, carved in takabori with fine kebori lines for the needles. The photographs show a deep black shakudō and a large-grained, very even nanako covering the whole surface, with a smooth, polished seppa-dai. Both side openings (hitsu-ana) are open. The visible condition is good: an even patina, intact gilding and crisp nanako, with a few minute spots of verdigris and light scratches on the seppa-dai of the reverse. Dimensions according to the original seller: 79 × 74.5 mm, 5.5 mm thick at the seppa-dai. The original seller states an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a fitted paulownia box; neither appears in the photographs.
Strong points
- Full, legible signature of the maker, a pupil of Tōryūsai Kiyotoshi
- Large-grained nanako ground, even across the whole plate
- Deep black shakudō with takabori crests and gold iroe
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper stated by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs; it rests on the original seller's statement
- Small spots of verdigris and light scratches on the seppa-dai of the reverse
- The rim is not shown in the photographs
Score
55.3 / 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 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 3.3 of 10 Rank 223 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
- Maker
- Tōunsai Watanabe Toshimitsu
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Shakudō, Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- 東龍斎派 (Tōryūsai-ha)
- Inscription
- 東雲斎渡邊壽光作 (Tōunsai Watanabe Toshimitsu saku)
- Technique
- Nanako (fish-roe ground), Takabori (high relief), Iroe (coloured inlay), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)