Kantei

NH-0999 Rank 155

Tsuba · Kyō-sukashi

Chrysanthemum-shaped iron tsuba pierced with myōga buds and flying geese, Kyō-sukashi school, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.

TsubaMuromachi or earlier (before 1573)Muromachi period (15th–16th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Unsigned (mumei) iron tsuba attributed by the original seller to the Kyō-sukashi school, the Kyoto openwork workshops active from the Muromachi period into early Edo. The guard is chrysanthemum-shaped (kikka-gata), with a scalloped petal outline and a rounded rim (maru-mimi). The positive-silhouette openwork (ji-sukashi) combines paired myōga buds on either side with thorny radial stems and flying-goose (karigane) terminals at top and bottom, in a symmetrical, light, heraldic composition typical of the school. According to the original seller it measures 8.4 × 8.5 cm and weighs 94 g. The photographs show a stable black patina with no visible active rust, and a small copper sekigane in the central opening, normal for a tsuba that has been mounted. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, visible in the photographs, and a wooden box with no visible inscription.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers
  • Kyō-sukashi school, Kyoto openwork workshops
  • Chrysanthemum shape with pierced myōga and karigane
  • Stable black patina, no visible active rust

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the school is an attribution, and the attribution line of the papers cannot be read in the photographs
  • Copper sekigane in the central opening
  • Photographs of modest resolution; the rim is not shown in detail

Score breakdown

58.6/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 9.6 of 10 Rank 10 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest