Kantei

NH-1006 Rank 266

Menuki · Waki-Gotō

Unsigned pair of shakudō menuki with gold accents depicting imoarai (washing taro), attributed by the NBTHK to the Waki-Gotō school with a Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

MenukiLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo period (probably late, 18th–19th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

A pair of menuki depicting the imoarai-zu (芋洗図, imoarai-zu) theme, the washing of taro in water: on one piece a figure rises among waves beside a tub and golden tubers; on the other a man in a straw hat handles a boat or tub amid the swell. They are carved in the round (katachibori) in black shakudō, with details heightened in gold iroe; the waves are finely chiselled. The photographs show the front, profile and back of both pieces, with their pegs, and no signature. Condition is good: an even dark patina with warmer tones on the high points and the gold largely preserved, with slight wear on some edges. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, no. 2010069, dated 10 October 2023, describes them as shakudō-ji (赤銅地, shakudō-ji) with katachibori and iroe, and attributes them, unsigned, to the Waki-Gotō (脇後藤, Waki-Gotō) school, the side branches of the Gotō workshop. The original seller states that they come in a paulownia (kiri) box.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2023)
  • Paper attribution to the Waki-Gotō school
  • Shakudō with gold iroe, carved in katachibori
  • Uncommon narrative theme: imoarai (washing taro)
  • Front, profile and back photographed

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution, not a named master
  • The paper gives no period; dating is indicative
  • Slight wear to the gold on some edges

Score breakdown

52/100

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 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
  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 10 of 10 Rank 1 of 22 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest