NH-0895 Rank 62
Tsuba · Toda Hikozaemon
戸田彦左衛門 (Toda Hikozaemon)
Round iron tsuba from Owari, signed Toda Hikozaemon, with two pairs of small openwork suhama crests. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Round (marugata) iron tsuba signed 戸田彦左エ門 (Toda Hikozaemon), one of the representative tsubakō of Owari province in the mid-Edo period. The signature, a single line cut with a fine chisel in cursive script, is read to the left of the seppa-dai. The design is restrained: on a polished iron ground worked with fine amida-yasuri file marks, two pairs of small openings (ko-sukashi) in the shape of the suhama crest are pierced beside the two hitsu-ana. The rim (mimi) is rounded and well contoured. According to the original seller it measures 81.8 × 81.5 mm, 4.8 mm thick at the seppa-dai. The photographs show a dark, stable patina of purplish-brown tone, with no active red rust and no noticeable knocks; the central opening is fitted with copper sekigane. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, dated 2 April 2021, describes it as a round iron tsuba with amida file marks, suhama openwork in two pairs and a rounded rim, and accepts the signature of Toda Hikozaemon.
Strong points
- Signature of Toda Hikozaemon accepted by the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper (2021)
- Good iron with fine amida-yasuri file marks
- Two pairs of suhama openings, a restrained and balanced composition
- Dark, stable patina with no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- The piece is undated and the paper gives no period: the dating comes from the original seller and the style
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- Photographs of limited resolution
Score breakdown
63.8/100
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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- 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 9.8 of 10 Rank 6 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest