NH-0973 Rank 289
Tsuba · Kamakura
Unsigned iron tsuba of mokkō shape, with a large raised ensō circle and scrolls at the four lobes, attributed to the Kamakura school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned iron tsuba, 無銘 (mumei), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the 鎌倉 (Kamakura) school. The paper titles it 四方鐶円相図鐔 (shihō-kan ensō-zu tsuba): a large ensō ring surrounds the central opening, and four scrolls, like small rings, mark the junctions of the lobes of the mokkō outline. The paper describes an iron plate with a tsuchime (hammered) ground, suki-kebori carving and a sukinokoshi-mimi rim, left in relief by cutting the field back; the photographs confirm it: a double raised outline follows the four lobes and a double fillet draws the central circle on a granular, lively iron surface. It is a restrained work of geometric design and quiet carving, true to the taste for simplicity of Kamakura tsuba. The patina is an even, stable dark brown with no visible active red rust, and the reliefs keep their drawing. The central opening carries copper sekigane above and below. The original seller gives 8.73 × 8.73 cm, 0.27 cm thickness at the seppa-dai and 114.8 g. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2008466, dated 1 April 2022. It comes in a wooden box with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2022) attributing it to the Kamakura school
- Restrained geometric design: central ensō and scrolls at the four lobes
- Iron with tsuchime ground and raised sukinokoshi-mimi rim
- Stable dark patina with no visible active rust
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker's
- The paper does not state the period; the original seller only says Edo period
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- The edge is only seen in oblique views
Score breakdown
50.9/100
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 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 8.9 of 10 Rank 26 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest