NH-1003 Rank 247
Tsuba · Kyō-sukashi
Round iron openwork tsuba (jisukashi) of the Kyō-sukashi school, with willow and kakitsubata irises, unsigned, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba attributed by its paper to the Kyō-sukashi school, the Kyoto workshops that, from the Muromachi period to the early Edo period, worked pierced iron with a fine and elegant design. The paper titles it 柳樹燕子花透鐔 (ryūju kakitsubata sukashi tsuba), a pierced tsuba with willow and kakitsubata irises: the drooping willow branches, with their pointed leaves, run across the plate in thin lines; at the top stands a solid silhouette, the flower, and rounded shapes close the composition below. According to the paper it is marugata (round), iron in jisukashi, negative-silhouette piercing, with a kaku-mimi ko-niku rim, squared and slightly rounded. The photographs show both faces with a dark, even patina, no active red rust and no cracks, and light wear on the rim and the seppa-dai; it retains copper sekigane above and below the central opening and a small round hole below the seppa-dai. The original seller gives 8.5 × 8.3 cm, 0.5 cm thickness at the seppa-dai and 83 g. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2005865, dated 27 August 2019, which records it as 無銘 京透 (mumei Kyō-sukashi). It comes in a wooden box with no visible inscription.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper, seen in the photographs
- Fine, elegant piercing typical of the Kyō-sukashi school
- Classic theme of willow and kakitsubata irises
- Dark, stable patina on both faces, no active rust
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to a school, not to a maker
- Copper sekigane in the central opening, as is usual
- The period is inferred from style; the paper does not state it
- Light wear on the rim and the seppa-dai
Score breakdown
53.3/100
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 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 5.3 of 10 Rank 108 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest