Kantei

NH-1008 Rank 65

Kozuka · Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke

吉岡因幡介 (Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke)

Shakudō nanako kozuka with the 'absent Kōmei' motif, signed by Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.

KozukaEarly Edo (1615–1688)Edo period (1603–1868)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Kozuka signed 吉岡因幡介 (Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke), the hereditary name of the Yoshioka school, a workshop of metalsmiths in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate throughout the Edo period. The front, in shakudō on a fine and even nanako ground, carries a rusu-moyō motif devoted to Kōmei (Zhuge Liang): his feather fan and Chinese hat, applied in shakudō relief with gold iroe accents, evoke the strategist without showing him. The polished back is engraved with a running kirin and an unrolled scroll inside which the signature is written, woven into the design. The photographs show crisp nanako, intact gold and a back with fine scratches and a few surface marks from use. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (no. 2009926, 10 October 2023) describes the piece as a kozuka with the absent-Kōmei motif, in shakudō nanako-ji with suemon and iroe, and accepts the signature. It comes in a wooden box.

Strong points

  • Signature of Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke accepted by the paper
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper
  • Rusu-moyō motif of Kōmei: feather fan and Chinese hat
  • Signature set within an engraved scroll on the back, beside a kirin
  • Fine, even nanako with gold accents

Points to bear in mind

  • Neither the paper nor the signature gives a date; the Yoshioka generation is not identified
  • Fine scratches and a few surface marks on the back

Score breakdown

63.4/100

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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
  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 7.4 of 10 Rank 16 of 59 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest