NH-0932 Rank 325
Tsuba · Mino
Mokkō-shaped shakudō tsuba with a nanako ground, carved in relief with horses among autumn flowers and gold highlights; unsigned, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to the Mino school.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
An unsigned tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Mino school, known for autumn grasses and flowers carved in shakudō. The theme, 秋草遊馬図 (akikusa yūba-zu), shows horses roaming free among autumn plants: two on the front and one on the back, amid chrysanthemums, hagi, kikyō and nadeshiko. The mokkō-shaped plate is deep black shakudō with a fine, even nanako ground; the motifs are carved in relief by cutting back the ground (sukidashi-bori) and the flowers are picked out in gold iroe. The rim is a dote-mimi left standing from the plate itself, and both hitsu-ana are closed with metal plugs. The photographs show a dark, even patina, intact gold and crisp carving; there are a few fine scratches on the back of one horse and a small brownish area on the edge of the seppa-dai. The original seller gives 72.5 × 69.4 mm, 5 mm thickness and 169 g, and places it in the early Edo period. The Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2011129, dated 20 December 2024, appears in the photographs.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper seen in the photographs
- Deep black shakudō with a fine, even nanako ground
- Horses and autumn flowers in relief, with intact gold iroe
- Composition spread over both faces: two horses on the front, one on the back
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the Mino school attribution comes from the paper
- The period is stated by the original seller; the paper does not give it
- Fine scratches on one horse and a small brownish area next to the central opening
- The hitsu-ana are closed with metal plugs
Score breakdown
48.7/100
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 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 2.7 of 10 Rank 167 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest