Kantei

NH-0961 Rank 364

Tsuba · Kaga Gotō

Unsigned shakudō nanako tsuba with gold clam shells in high relief and iroe cartouches on the kai-awase theme, attributed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper to the Kaga Gotō school.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo period, probably late (19th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An unsigned tsuba that the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, dated 2015, attributes to the 加賀後藤 (Kaga Gotō) school, the branch of the Gotō family that worked for the Maeda lords of Kaga. The theme is kai-awase, the courtly shell-matching game: gold clams in sukidashi-takabori sit on the plate beside four polished shakudō cartouches evoking the painted insides of the shells, showing a palace carriage beneath pine and willow, a plum branch with bamboo, a chrysanthemum, and a willow with a small silver figure, all in iroe of gold, gilt copper and silver. The shape is nadekaku, with rounded corners, and the ground is a very fine, regular nanako laid in concentric circles; the rim carries a gilt fukurin. The photographs show an even black patina, crisp nanako, an intact fukurin and only fine scratches on the gold, with copper sekigane in the central opening. The original seller gives 7.49 × 7.2 cm and 137.6 g. It comes in a fabric-lined wooden box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2015) attributing it to Kaga Gotō
  • Very fine, regular shakudō nanako in concentric circles
  • Gold clams in sukidashi-takabori and cartouches in gold and silver iroe
  • Courtly kai-awase theme with gilt fukurin

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the paper attributes it to a school, not to a named master
  • The paper gives no date; the late period is a stylistic estimate
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening and fine scratches on the gold

Score breakdown

44.3/100

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 2.3 of 10 Rank 175 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest