NH-0946 Rank 43
Tsuba · Hayashi Matashichi
林又七 (Hayashi Matashichi)
Iron tsuba with two large cloud-shaped openings, unsigned and attributed by the NBTHK to Hayashi Matashichi, founder of the Hayashi school of Higo. Designated Jūyō Tōsōgu at the 64th shinsa.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Forged iron tsuba of tate-marugata shape with a maru-mimi rim, pierced left and right with two large symmetrical clouds. The edges of the openings retain the chisel marks, cut in a single decisive movement, and the iron shows a dense, lustrous surface with a subtle forging texture around the seppa-dai. Copper sekigane fill the central ana, and one hitsu-ana carries a side plug. Hayashi Matashichi (1613-1699), founder of the Hayashi school of Higo, is one of the great masters of pierced iron. The NBTHK certificate, dated 2018, designates it Jūyō Tōsōgu and attributes it to Matashichi without reservation, titling it a tsuba pierced with clouds on left and right and dating it to the early Edo period. The piece is published as no. 69 in the Higo Kinkō Taikan, which records it in a private collection, and according to the original seller it was shown in exhibitions devoted to Higo metalwork in 1964 and 1978. The photographs show a stable dark patina, with no active rust or cracks and a few light handling marks. It comes with a plain wooden box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu paper (64th shinsa, 2018)
- Attributed by the paper to Hayashi Matashichi, founder of the Hayashi school
- Pierced cloud design with no known parallel in his work
- Published in the Higo Kinkō Taikan (no. 69)
- Finely forged iron with openings cut in a single stroke
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship rests on the paper's attribution
- Copper sekigane in the central ana, normal for a tsuba that was mounted
- Light scuffs on the front surface
Score breakdown
66/100
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 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 20 of 20 Exceptional work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 8 of 10 NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 0 of 10 Rank 228 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest