Kantei

NH-1025 Rank 290

Menuki · Mino school

Pair of gold menuki with crawling dragons carved in the round, unsigned and attributed to the Mino school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

MenukiMid-Edo (1688–1781)Mid-Edo period (18th century), by styleNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An unsigned pair of menuki, mumei (無銘), attributed by the paper to the Mino school, 美濃 (Mino), known for its dragons and densely carved motifs. Each piece shows a crawling dragon coiling through clouds, the head turned to the front, with fine whiskers, open claws and scales chiselled one by one. The paper describes the work as 這龍図目貫 (hai-ryū-zu menuki), in 金地 (kinji, gold ground) and 容彫 (katachibori, carving in the round); the photographs confirm bright gold, the dragon's body pierced in several openings and a hollow reverse with serrated edges. The original seller gives dimensions of 4.80 × 1.57 cm and 4.77 × 1.69 cm and a total weight of 17 g. In the photographs the relief is crisp and the gold shows no visible loss; no knocks or breaks are seen. The pair comes with an NBTHK 特別保存刀装具 (Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu) paper, no. 222453, dated April 1996, and is presented in a paulownia wood box with no visible inscription.

Strong points

  • Solid gold (kinji) carved in the round (katachibori)
  • Densely carved crawling dragons, scales chiselled one by one
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 222453 (1996)
  • Crisp relief and no visible loss of gold

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: a school attribution (Mino), not a named maker
  • The period is inferred from style; the paper does not state it
  • Only one composite photograph of the piece

Score breakdown

51.1/100

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.

  1. Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
  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 2.1 of 10 Rank 20 of 25 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest