NH-0979 Rank 151
Tsuba · Ōnin
Iron tsuba pierced in a petal design, outlined and dotted with brass, attributed to the Ōnin school of the Muromachi period, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba, 無銘 (mumei), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the 応仁 (Ōnin) school, associated with the earliest iron guards inlaid with brass. The paper describes it as a 花弁透鐔 (kaben-sukashi tsuba), a guard pierced with petals, of 木瓜形 (mokkō-gata) shape, in iron, 鉄地 (tetsuji), with ground piercing, 地透 (jisukashi), inlay, 象嵌 (zōgan), and a rounded rim, 丸耳 (maru-mimi). The photographs show a hammered iron plate in which four pierced petals surround the centre, closed by an outer ring; every contour is outlined with a fine brass wire and the field is scattered with brass dots in groups of two and three. The centre carries an outlined oval and two hitsu-ana. The iron patina is dark and stable, with no active red rust visible, and the inlay survives almost complete. The central opening is fitted with copper sekigane above and below. According to the original seller it measures 9.3 × 9.2 cm, 0.4 cm thick at the seppadai, and weighs 104 g. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2007560, dated 14 July 2021.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to the Ōnin school
- Pierced petal design with brass outlines on every contour
- Muromachi-period iron with a dark, stable patina
- Brass line and dot inlay almost complete
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: a school attribution, not a maker
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- The period is inferred from the school attribution; the paper gives no date of manufacture
- Measurements and weight as stated by the original seller
Score breakdown
58.8/100
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 15 of 20 Notable 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 4.8 of 10 Rank 118 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest