NH-1004 Rank 264
Tsuba · Ko-Kinkō
Unsigned yamagane tsuba with a nanako ground and marine motifs in relief highlighted with gold, attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Unsigned tsuba of nadekaku form (rounded square), attributed by the NBTHK paper to the Ko-Kinkō school, the early soft-metal craftsmen who preceded the great Edo schools. The theme, "blessings of the sea", is spread over both faces: crabs, curved shrimps, a star-shaped motif and a basket, carved in sukidashi-takabori (high relief obtained by cutting back the ground). The metal is yamagane, an old unrefined copper, worked with a fine nanako ground and scattered with dots of gold in kin-iroe. The photographs show both faces and the rim: a dark, even patina, a legible nanako, crisp reliefs and the gold intact, with no visible knocks or rust, although the resolution does not allow close inspection. According to the original seller it measures 8.47 × 7.74 cm, weighs 147 g and comes in a kiri box. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2000781, dated 28 February 2013, with the attribution "無銘 古金工 (mumei Ko-Kinkō)".
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2000781 (2013)
- Yamagane with nanako ground and sukidashi-takabori relief
- Marine theme across both faces, with gold dots
- Dark patina and crisp reliefs in the photographs
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to a school, not to a maker
- The dating rests on style and on the original seller; the paper gives no date of making
- Low-resolution photographs: fine condition cannot be confirmed
Score breakdown
52.1/100
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 4.1 of 10 Rank 135 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest