Kantei

NH-0955 Rank 307

Tsuba · Higo

Unsigned Higo school tsuba in hammered iron, jūji mokkō shape, with scattered double gold karakusa and an uchikaeshi zōgan rim; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo periodNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An unsigned tsuba attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Higo school, known for the beauty of its iron and a restrained use of openwork and inlay. The plate is of jūji mokkō shape (four-lobed, cross-like) with a tsuchime-ji surface worked with the hammer, two small cloud-shaped openings beside the central opening and a round hitsu-ana. The theme is nijū karakusa chirashi: double arabesques in fine gold line scattered around the seppadai on both faces. The rim carries uchikaeshi zōgan, hammered gold forming a crackle pattern over the iron. According to the original seller it measures 8.57 × 7.02 cm, 0.46 cm at the seppadai, and weighs 133.5 g. The photographs show a stable dark patina without active rust, some old pitting on one lobe, the gold almost entirely intact and copper sekigane in the central opening, whose edge is irregular. The paper is a Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu certificate, no. 2011368, dated 1 April 2025, describing it as 無銘 (mumei) and attributing it to 肥後 (Higo).

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025), attributed to the Higo school
  • Tsuchime-ji iron in jūji mokkō shape, sober and typical of Higo
  • Double gold karakusa scattered on both faces
  • Well-preserved gold uchikaeshi zōgan rim
  • Stable dark patina, no active rust

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named maker
  • Copper sekigane and an irregular edge in the central opening
  • Some old, stable pitting on one lobe of the front face
  • The paper does not specify the sub-period within Edo

Score breakdown

49.9/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 7.9 of 10 Rank 48 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest