NH-0947 Rank 125
Tsuba · Nishigaki Kanshirō (shodai)
初代西垣勘四郎 (Shodai Nishigaki Kanshirō)
Round brass tsuba with waves carved in sukidashi-bori, attributed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the first Nishigaki Kanshirō, founder of the Nishigaki school of Higo.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned (mumei) tsuba attributed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, dated February 2003, to Shodai Kanshirō, founder of the Nishigaki school of Higo (1613–1693), a pupil of Hirata Hikozō and craftsman to the Hosokawa according to the original seller. The paper describes it as a marugata of brass (shinchū-ji), carved in sukidashi-bori, with a kan-mimi rim and two hitsu-ana. The photographs show on both faces a sea of waves surrounding the seppa-dai: curling crests and spray rendered as small dots, carved in recessed relief, with a rim imitating a rolling wave. The plate thins from the seppa-dai towards the rim. The original seller mentions lacquer in the hollows of the waves, which the photographs do not allow to confirm. The patina is dark and warm, with the high points lighter from handling; the central opening carries copper sekigane. It is kept in its wooden box with a hakogaki by Amiya Sōemon, dated spring 1945. Dimensions according to the original seller: 76.3 × 72.5 × 5.2 mm.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2003) attributing it to the first Kanshirō
- Attributed to the founder of the Nishigaki school of Higo
- Vigorous waves carved in sukidashi-bori on brass, on both faces
- Original box with hakogaki by Amiya Sōemon (1945)
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship is an attribution by the paper
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- High points of the relief and the rim slightly lightened by handling
- The edge is only visible in oblique views
Score breakdown
59.7/100
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 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 2 of 5 Adds: box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
- Price 0.7 of 10 Rank 212 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest