NH-1009 Rank 116
Tsuba · Shōami Ichirobei Masanori
正阿弥市郎兵衛政徳 (Shōami Ichirobei Masanori)
Mokkō-shaped iron tsuba with a spiny lobster and crab in suemon zōgan and iroe and a gold-inlaid meander border, signed by Shōami Ichirobei Masanori of Nishijin; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Iron tsuba of 木瓜形 (mokkō-gata) shape, signed 城州西陣住正阿弥市郎兵衛政徳作 (Jōshū Nishijin-jū Shōami Ichirobei Masanori saku): a work by Ichirobei Masanori of the Shōami school, active in the Nishijin district of Yamashiro province. The theme is spiny lobsters and crabs: on the front, a large lobster with long antennae over waves engraved in line, and a small crab near the lower edge; on the back the composition is mirrored. The figures are executed in 据紋象嵌 (suemon zōgan) with iroe touches and gold eyes, and the thick 土手耳 (dote-mimi) rim is scattered with meander motifs inlaid in gold. The signature, chiselled on both sides of the central opening, is legible in the photographs. It is a thick, heavy plate: 7.63 × 7.39 cm and 161 g according to the original seller. The photographs show a dark, stable patina with no active rust, and a small copper filler in the central opening. It is accompanied by an NBTHK 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu) paper, no. 2010330, dated 19 December 2023, which accepts the signature. It comes in a plain paulownia box without inscription.
Strong points
- Signed, with the signature accepted by the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper
- Lobster and crab in suemon zōgan with iroe on both faces
- Dote-mimi rim with gold-inlaid meanders
- Thick, heavy plate with strong presence
Points to bear in mind
- The piece is not dated: the period is inferred from style
- Small copper filler (sekigane) in the central opening
- The available photographs are of limited resolution
Score breakdown
60.1/100
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 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 8.1 of 10 Rank 43 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest