Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round pierced iron tsuba, unsigned, attributed to the Owari school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, with heraldic emblems arranged at the four cardinal points.
Round iron tsuba, unsigned (mumei), attributed by its NBTHK paper to the Owari school. The paper titles it 四方武鑑透鐔 (shihō bukan sukashi tsuba): the openwork distributes across the four cardinal points emblems of the kind recorded in the Edo-period bukan heraldic registers, with a radiating motif ending in balls at the top, a lobed emblem at the bottom and crests on either side, linked by saw-toothed bands surrounding the seppadai. The paper describes the technique as ji-sukashi with kebori and a kaku-mimi ko-niku rim. According to the original seller it measures 8.2 × 8.1 cm and weighs 135 g. The photographs show hammer-textured iron with a dark, stable patina and some stable brown oxidation on the rim and inside the openings, with no cracks or broken bridges. Both hitsu-ana remain open. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, number 2007865, dated 17 September 2021, and the photographs show it in an uninscribed wooden box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2021) attributing it to Owari
- Symmetrical composition of emblems at the four cardinal points
- Crisp openwork with saw-toothed bands around the seppadai
- Dark, stable patina with no cracks or broken bridges
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not an attribution to an individual maker
- The paper gives no period; the dating is stylistic
- Stable brown oxidation on the rim and inside the openings
Score
47.5 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 5.5 of 10 Rank 149 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.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- School
- Owari
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (late 18th–19th century)
- Paper number
- 2007865
- Paper date
- 17 September 2021
- Attribution on the paper
- 尾張 (Owari)