Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned openwork iron tsuba with clouds, moon and branches in a night landscape, attributed to the Ko-Akasaka school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Round (marugata) iron tsuba with a rounded rim (marumimi), unsigned, attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Ko-Akasaka school, the name given to the first three generations of the Akasaka line, who settled in Edo around the Kan'ei era. The paper titles it 雲月夜景透鐔 (kumo tsuki yakei sukashi tsuba), "openwork tsuba with a night view of clouds and moon": the silhouette openwork depicts elongated clouds, a crescent and branches framing the central ana, with some kebori line work. The photographs show dense iron with a granular surface, the robust thickness typical of the school and a stable dark patina, with no active rust or cracks; copper sekigane are fitted at the top and bottom of the central opening. According to the original seller it measures 8.2 × 8.1 cm, 0.7 cm at the seppadai, and weighs 126 g. It carries an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2006737, dated 2020, describing it as mumei, Ko-Akasaka, a marugata iron tsuba with openwork and kebori and a marumimi. It comes in an uninscribed wooden box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2020) attributing it to Ko-Akasaka
- Poetic composition of clouds, moon and branches in silhouette openwork
- Well-forged, thick iron with a granular surface
- Stable dark patina, no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named maker
- Copper sekigane in the central ana
- A few small surface spots near the seppadai
Score
52.5 / 100
- 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 6.5 of 10 Rank 117 of 330 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest
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.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- School
- Ko-Akasaka (古赤坂)
- Period
- Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Early Edo period (17th century)
- Paper number
- 2006737
- Paper date
- 25 August 2020
- Attribution on the paper
- 古赤坂 (Ko-Akasaka)