NH-0925 Rank 227
Tsuba · Ko-Gotō
Unsigned shakudō nanako tsuba strewn with paulownia crests in gold and shakudō, attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Gotō school, with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
An unsigned tsuba which the NBTHK paper attributes to the Ko-Gotō school, the early generations of the Gotō lineage and their circle, who supplied fittings to the warrior class. The theme, 桐紋散図 (kirimon chirashi-zu), is a scattering of go-san no kiri paulownia crests across both faces. The mokkō-shaped plate is of deep black shakudō with a fine, even nanako ground laid out in vertical rows. The crests are carved in sukidashi-takabori relief: nine covered in gold iroe and six left in the shakudō itself, a play of light very typical of the school. The photographs show a dark, even patina, the gold intact with no losses, a seppa-dai with signs of use and copper sekigane in the central opening. Some crests are cut by the hitsu-ana, suggesting these were opened or enlarged after the decoration. The original seller dates it to the late Muromachi period and declares a fitted paulownia box. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, number 2010888, dated 26 September 2024, describing it as mumei Ko-Gotō.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2024), attribution to Ko-Gotō
- Deep black shakudō with fine nanako in vertical rows
- Paulownia crests in sukidashi-takabori, in gold and in shakudō
- Gold on the crests intact, with no visible losses
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution by the paper, not to a specific maker
- Some crests are cut by the hitsu-ana, probably opened or enlarged later
- Copper sekigane and signs of use on the seppa-dai
- The period is declared by the original seller; the paper does not specify it
Score breakdown
54.7/100
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 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 5.7 of 10 Rank 98 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest