Kantei

NH-0964 Rank 276

Tsuba · Ko-Akasaka

Round unsigned iron tsuba pierced with wild geese (karigane) in a fukiyose composition, attributed to the Ko-Akasaka school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaEarly Edo (1615–1688)Early Edo period (17th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Round (marugata) iron tsuba with a hammered surface (tsuchime-ji), worked in positive openwork (ji-sukashi) and finished with a thick rounded mimi. The design brings together two wild geese (karigane), one with outspread wings and the other rendered as a single wing whose feathers are finely engraved in kebori, among wind-blown motifs in the fukiyose manner. The paper titles it 吹寄雁金透鐔 (fukiyose karigane-sukashi tsuba), records it as 無銘 (mumei) and attributes it to 古赤坂 (Ko-Akasaka), the early generations of the Akasaka school of Edo, known for well-forged iron, round shapes and bold, thick openwork. The photographs show a dark, stable patina on both faces and on the rim, with no active rust or cracks, and copper sekigane in the central opening. The original seller gives 7.1 × 7.1 cm, 0.5 cm at the seppa-dai and 51.7 g. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2007603, issued in 2021, and an uninscribed wooden box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2021)
  • Attributed to Ko-Akasaka, the early generations of the school
  • Positive openwork of wild geese with kebori feathers
  • Hammered iron with a dark, stable patina

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the attribution is to a school, not to a named maker
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • The period is inferred from the attribution and style; the paper gives no date

Score breakdown

51.6/100

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 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
  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 5.6 of 10 Rank 102 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest