NH-1000 Rank 136
Tsuba · Iwamoto Hirotoshi
岩本寛利 (Iwamoto Hirotoshi)
Polished suaka tsuba signed 好流軒 岩本寛利 (Kōryūken Iwamoto Hirotoshi) with kaō, showing the rural naruko scene in takabori and iroe; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Tatemaru-gata tsuba in polished suaka (copper) with a single hitsu-ana. Signed on the reverse 好流軒 岩本寛利 (Kōryūken Iwamoto Hirotoshi) with kaō. According to the original seller, Hirotoshi was a pupil and later adopted son of Iwamoto Konkan, sixth of the line, and succeeded him as seventh head of the Iwamoto school, which grew out of the Yokoya tradition; he died in 1815. The obverse shows a farmer in a straw hat pulling the ropes of the naruko, the wooden clappers used to scare birds from the rice fields, beside a pine with gold foliage and two birds; the reverse shows two straw sheaves, a bird in flight and another at the water's edge. The photographs show takabori with iroe in shakudō, shibuichi and gold, and fine gold ropes inlaid across the ground. The piece is reproduced in a Japanese illustrated dictionary as an example of materials and techniques. Good condition: warm, natural patina, fine scratches on the plate and a few small marks on the rim; copper sekigane in the central opening. It measures 7.47 × 7.18 cm and weighs 159.8 g according to the original seller. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, issued in 1991, records it with this signature.
Strong points
- Full signature with gō and kaō, accepted by the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper
- Takabori with iroe in shakudō, shibuichi and gold on polished suaka
- Rural naruko scene carried across both faces
- Reproduced in a Japanese reference work
- Presented in a fabric-lined wooden box
Points to bear in mind
- Fine scratches on the plate and small marks on the upper rim
- Copper sekigane in the central opening
- The certificate number cannot be read with certainty in the photograph
Score breakdown
59.3/100
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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable 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 2.3 of 10 Rank 176 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest