Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned round iron tsuba of the Nanban school, with two dragons among karakusa scrolls in openwork and relief; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper.
Unsigned tsuba attributed by the NBTHK to the Nanban school, the workshop that rendered motifs of continental inspiration in Japan. The paper describes it as 双龍唐草透鐔 (sōryū karakusa sukashi tsuba): two confronted dragons coiling among karakusa scrolls, with a flaming pearl at the top and a seal-style character at the bottom. It is made of iron in round form (marugata), worked in nikubori with a pierced ground (jisukashi), individually chiselled scales and a rounded rim (marumimi); the paper records it as katahitsu jitate, with a single hitsu-ana. The original seller gives dimensions of about 7.9 × 8.0 cm and a thickness of 0.7 cm. The photographs show superficial reddish-brown rust in the recesses of the openwork and on the seppa-dai, and the high points of the scrolls lighter from handling, with no visible cracks or breaks. It comes with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 229049, dated 22 December 2009, attributing it to 無銘 南蛮 (mumei Nanban).
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2009)
- Composition of two confronted dragons among karakusa
- Pierced ground and relief carving with chiselled scales
- Round iron plate with rounded rim
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Nanban school, not to a maker
- Visible superficial rust in the openwork recesses and on the seppa-dai
- Period inferred from style; the paper does not state it
Score
44.4 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 9 of 18 Visible wear
- 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 7.4 of 10 Rank 86 of 330 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest
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.
Details
- Type
- Tsuba
- School
- Nanban
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Takabori (high relief)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)
- Paper number
- 229049
- Paper date
- 22 December 2009
- Attribution on the paper
- 無銘 南蛮 (mumei Nanban)