Kantei

NH-1001 Rank 218

Tsuba · Ko-Tōshō

Round hammered-iron tsuba with negative-silhouette openings of a yukiwa (snow ring) and a jōgi (ruler), unsigned and attributed to the Ko-Tōshō school by its NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

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

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An unsigned, mumei (無銘) tsuba which the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper attributes to the Ko-Tōshō school, the early swordsmith-style tsuba makers of the Muromachi period. The paper titles it 雪輪定規透鐔 (yukiwa jōgi sukashi tsuba): on one side of the central opening are a long straight slot, the ruler or jōgi, and a lobed yukiwa evoking a snowflake; on the other, a polygonal opening. Everything is cut in negative silhouette (kage-sukashi), without relief or inlay, with the restraint typical of the school. The plate is iron, round (marugata), thin and with the hammered surface (tsuchime-ji) that the paper describes and the photographs show clearly; the rim is square with a slight rounding (kaku-mimi ko-niku). The original seller gives 9.12 × 9.67 cm, 0.34 cm thickness at the seppa-dai and 154.5 g. The photographs show a stable, even dark-brown patina, with no active rust or cracks, and small fitting marks around the central opening. It comes with Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2006280, dated March 2020, and a cloth-lined wooden box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2020), attribution to Ko-Tōshō
  • Yukiwa and jōgi design in kage-sukashi, restrained and well balanced
  • Hammered iron (tsuchime-ji) with a stable old patina
  • Both faces and the rim well documented in the photographs
  • Presented in a cloth-lined wooden box

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: attribution to a school, not to an individual maker
  • The period is inferred from the attribution and style; neither the piece nor the paper is dated
  • Small hammered fitting marks around the central opening

Score breakdown

55.4/100

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.

  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 6.4 of 10 Rank 83 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest