Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round tsuba of hammered iron, unsigned, with a plum blossom and a kukurizaru pierced in negative silhouette; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributing it to the Ko-Kacchūshi school.
Round (marugata) iron tsuba, unsigned (無銘, mumei), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Ko-Kacchūshi school (古甲冑師, Ko-Kacchūshi), the early iron guards traditionally associated with armourers. The paper describes it as 梅花括猿透鐔 (baika kukurizaru sukashi tsuba): beside the central ana, a stylised plum blossom and a kukurizaru, the 'tied monkey' of popular amulets, are pierced in negative silhouette (kage-sukashi). The plate, of hammered iron (tsuchime-ji) with a turned-over rim (uchikaeshi-mimi), keeps the irregular, lively surface of the forging. According to the original seller it measures 8.11 × 8.1 cm, 0.3 cm thick at the seppa-dai, and weighs 99.2 g. The photographs show a dark, stable patina with no active rust and a few small brown spots; one of the side openings (hitsu-ana) is plugged with an old greyish-white metal fill. The paper is an NBTHK 特別保存刀装具 (tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu), dated 7 July 2022. It comes in a wooden box lined with purple cloth, with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, attributed to the Ko-Kacchūshi school
- Negative-silhouette piercing of a plum blossom and a kukurizaru, amulet motifs
- Hammered iron (tsuchime-ji) with turned-over rim, early forging
- Dark, stable patina with no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the attribution is to a school, not to a maker
- One hitsu-ana is plugged with a soft-metal fill
- The paper does not date the piece; the period is inferred from the school and style
Score
53.9 / 100
- 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 4.9 of 10 Rank 169 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
- 古甲冑師 (Ko-Kacchūshi)
- Period
- Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Material
- Iron, Other material
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Other technique
- Dating
- Muromachi period (15th–16th century)
- Paper number
- 2008710
- Paper date
- 7 July 2022
- Attribution on the paper
- 古甲冑師 (Ko-Kacchūshi)