NH-0972 Rank 217
Tsuba · Ko-Kacchūshi
Unsigned iron tsuba of mokkō shape with four inome openings and an ishime-ji surface, attributed by the NBTHK to the Ko-Kacchūshi school, with Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned (mumei) tsuba attributed to the Ko-Kacchūshi school, the early tsuba makers associated with armourers, whose austere iron plates are among the oldest surviving guards. The piece has a four-lobed mokkō shape, a rounded marumimi rim and, in each lobe, an inome opening in the shape of a boar's heart, a long-standing protective motif. Both faces are worked with an even ishime-ji granular texture that gives the iron a lively surface. The single hitsu-ana has been filled with an old metal plug. The original seller gives dimensions of 8.17 × 8.0 cm, a seppadai thickness of 0.27 cm and a weight of 94.8 g. The photographs show a stable dark brown iron patina with no active rust, intact rim and openings, and old fitting marks around the central ana. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, dated 24 February 2010, describes it as a mumei tsuba with shihō inome openwork of the Ko-Kacchūshi school. It comes in a wooden box with a silk cushion, without inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper (2010) shown in the photographs
- Ko-Kacchūshi school, among the earliest iron tsuba
- Four inome openings in a mokkō shape, sober and balanced design
- Even ishime-ji surface on both faces
- Stable iron patina, no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attribution to a school, not to a maker
- The hitsu-ana is filled with a metal plug
- Old fitting marks around the central ana
- Period inferred from style and attribution; the paper does not state it
Score breakdown
55.4/100
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.
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 6.4 of 10 Rank 82 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest