NH-0959 Rank 138
Menuki · Ko-kinkō
A pair of shakudō menuki depicting squirrels among grapes and vine leaves, with fukurokise gold, attributed to the Ko-kinkō school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
A pair of menuki attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Ko-kinkō school, the name given to early metalworkers outside the main Gotō line. Each piece shows a squirrel (risu) among bunches of grapes and vine leaves over an openwork ground of tendrils: the 葡萄栗鼠図 (budō risu-zu) theme, a symbol of fertility and prosperity. The body is shakudō worked in katachibori (cut-out carving in the round); the squirrel and the grapes are covered in gold using fukurokise iroe (wrapped gold sheet), and the leaves carry small inlaid gold dots (zōgan iroe). The photographs show lively chiselled fur, well-modelled vine leaves and a hollow back with a central copper foot (ashi). Condition is good: the gold survives over almost the whole surface, with slight wear on the high points of some grapes and the tail, and a small greenish trace beside one squirrel's face. The pieces are 無銘 (mumei). They come with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2011071, dated 20 December 2024 (Reiwa 6), attributing them to Ko-kinkō and describing shakudō-ji, katachibori, fukurokise iroe and zōgan iroe. The original seller gives about 4.5 × 1.5 cm and 5.5–5.6 g per piece. They are presented in an uninscribed wooden box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2024)
- Squirrel-and-grapes theme, a Ko-kinkō classic
- Shakudō with gold in fukurokise iroe and zōgan
- Carving in the round with openwork tendrils and finely chiselled fur
- Complete pair, in a wooden box
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes the pair to a school, not to a maker
- The period is estimated from style; the paper does not state it
- Slight gold wear on the high points and a small greenish trace beside one squirrel's face
Score breakdown
59.2/100
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 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 6.2 of 10 Rank 9 of 22 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest