NH-0992 Rank 279
Tsuba · Kanayama
Round tsuba of hammered iron, unsigned, pierced with wild geese at top and bottom, attributed to the Kanayama school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Round (marugata) iron tsuba, unsigned (mumei), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the 金山 (Kanayama) school, one of the pierced-iron tsuba traditions associated with the Owari and Mino regions. The design, which the paper titles 天地雁金透 (tenchi karigane sukashi), shows in ji-sukashi two stylised wild geese (karigane) at top and bottom, joined to the rim, while two large lateral rings link the seppadai to a rounded rim (maru-mimi). The surface displays the characteristic hammered tsuchime-ji finish under a dry black patina. According to the original seller it measures 7.58 × 7.54 cm, is 0.5 cm thick at the seppadai and weighs 72.5 g. The photographs show the obverse, the reverse, the edge and several oblique views: the iron is sound, with small brown spots of surface rust on the inner walls of the openings, copper sekigane above and below the central opening on the reverse and fitting chisel marks along one of its sides. The Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2011602, is dated 19 June 2025. It comes in an uninscribed wooden box.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2025)
- Paper attribution to the Kanayama school
- Geometric design of karigane at top and bottom in ji-sukashi
- Iron with hammered tsuchime-ji and stable black patina
- Photographed on both faces and the edge
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: attributed to a school, not to an individual maker
- Copper sekigane and fitting marks at the central opening
- Small spots of surface rust inside the openings
- The period is estimated from style; the paper does not state it
Score breakdown
51.4/100
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 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 5.4 of 10 Rank 106 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest