NH-0894 Rank 175
Tsuba · Tōshō
Round hammered-iron tsuba, unsigned, with chrysanthemum-leaf openwork, attributed to the Tōshō tradition by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned (mumei) tsuba of the Tōshō type, the name tradition gives to iron guards attributed to swordsmiths. It is a round iron plate with a tsuchime (hammered) surface and a rounded mimi, measuring, according to the original seller, 86.7 × 86.4 mm and 3.6 mm thick at the seppa-dai. The design shows chrysanthemum leaves pierced in negative silhouette (kage-sukashi) on both sides and at the top; one leaf carries a small pierced dot, which the original seller reads as a snow-laden leaf with a water drop. There are two hitsu-ana, one of them closed with a gilt plug that the original seller describes as gold. The photographs show a dark, even iron patina on both faces, with no visible active rust or cracks. The NBTHK paper, Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu, describes it as 菊透鐔 (kiku-sukashi tsuba), 無銘 (mumei), and attributes it to 刀匠 (Tōshō). The paper gives no period; on style, with its two hitsu-ana, it sits between Momoyama and early Edo.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper
- Tsuchime iron with a fine dark patina
- Restrained kage-sukashi chrysanthemum-leaf openwork
- Hitsu-ana closed with a gilt plug
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a generic attribution to the Tōshō tradition, not to a named maker
- The period is inferred from style; the paper does not state it
- Small photographs, with no view of the rim
Score breakdown
57.7/100
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.
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- 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 9.7 of 10 Rank 8 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest