Kantei
‹ Koshirae

Photographs by the seller at origin.

The piece

Unsigned iron tsuba of the Akasaka school, pierced with the Musashino theme (moon, cloud and susuki grass), with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

Unsigned iron tsuba, attributed by its paper to the Akasaka school, the iron-piercing workshop established in Edo from the Kan'ei era and active until the end of the Edo period. It shows the classic Musashino theme, the plain of Musashi: a crescent moon above a cloud with a lobed outline and susuki stems crossing in arcs towards the rim, ending in small pierced rings. Tatemarugata shape with a rounded marumimi, iron with a hammered tsuchime surface and clean, even jisukashi piercing. The original seller gives 8.1 × 7.8 cm, 0.6 cm at the seppadai and 104.2 g. The photographs show a stable dark brown patina, with no active rust and no breaks in the openwork, a few old pits, and copper sekigane in the central opening. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2010457, dated 19 December 2023, describes it as 武蔵野透鐔 無銘 赤坂 (Musashino sukashi tsuba, mumei, Akasaka).

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2023), photographed
  • Musashino theme, one of the signature designs of the Akasaka school
  • Tsuchime iron with a stable patina and no active rust
  • Clean, well-balanced jisukashi piercing
  • Presented in a cloth-lined wooden box

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: attributed to the Akasaka school, with no specific generation or maker
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening, somewhat deformed
  • The dating is stylistic; the paper does not state a period

Score

49.9 / 100

  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 70 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.

Type
Tsuba
School
Akasaka
Period
Late Edo (1781–1868)
Material
Iron
Paper
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
Signature
Unsigned (mumei)
Technique
Sukashi (openwork), Other technique
Dating
Late Edo period (late 18th – 19th century)
Paper number
2010457
Paper date
19 December 2023
Attribution on the paper
赤坂 (Akasaka)

€2,190Shipping and taxes included

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