Kantei

NH-0963 Rank 303

Tsuba · Akasaka

Openwork iron tsuba of the Akasaka school with chrysanthemum and paulownia (kiku-kiri), unsigned, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo period (17th–19th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Round (marugata) iron tsuba with a polished surface, attributed by its papers to the Akasaka school, which worked in Edo from the Kan'ei era until the end of the shogunate. The kiku-kiri motif (chrysanthemum and paulownia) is rendered in positive and negative openwork (ji-sukashi and kage-sukashi): chrysanthemum petals run around the rim like a wreath, while a paulownia leaf with a serrated outline and a branching flower stem fill the two sides of the seppadai. The rim is a thick, rounded maru-mimi. According to the original vendor it measures 7.8 × 7.7 cm, 0.6 cm at the seppadai, and weighs 92 g. The photographs show a dark, stable iron patina on both faces and on the rim, with no active rust or cracks; the central opening retains copper sekigane. The piece is mumei, and the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu papers, dated 2020, attribute it to Akasaka. It comes in a plain wooden box without inscription.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu papers, attributed to Akasaka
  • Well-balanced kiku-kiri motif in positive and negative openwork
  • Polished iron with a dark, stable patina
  • Thick marugata form with rounded maru-mimi

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named master
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • The papers do not specify the sub-period within Edo

Score breakdown

50.2/100

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.

  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 8.2 of 10 Rank 42 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest