Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Openwork iron tsuba depicting a pine grove in the mist, carved in relief with gold accents and signed by Ōtaka Hironaga; NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper.
Iron tsuba of tate-marugata (upright oval) form, signed 大高寛長 (Ōtaka Hironaga) on the seppa-dai beside the central opening. It depicts a pine grove veiled in mist, a theme the paper titles 霞松原透鐔 (kasumi matsubara sukashi tsuba): pine canopies in relief with finely chiselled needles, trunks and horizontal bands of mist crossing the plate, with the ground cut away in openwork. Touches of gold zōgan enliven the foot of the trees. The paper describes it as tetsuji (iron), nikubori ji-sukashi, zōgan and a kaku-mimi rim. The photographs show a stable, dark brown iron patina with no active rust or visible knocks; the gold survives in patches along the lower part. According to the original seller it measures 7.90 × 7.45 cm, 0.42 cm thick at the centre and 98 g, and dates from the late Edo period. It comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu certificate (no. 2011986, 18 December 2025) that records the signature, and a paulownia box.
Strong points
- Signed Ōtaka Hironaga, signature recorded by the NBTHK paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu certificate
- Pine grove in the mist in openwork and relief carving, with gold accents
- Stable iron patina with no active rust
- Kept in a paulownia box
Points to bear in mind
- The gold survives only in patches along the lower part
- The period is given by the original seller; the paper does not state it
- A little-documented maker, outside the first rank of tsuba masters
Score
61.9 / 100
- 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 9.9 of 10 Rank 5 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
- Maker
- Ōtaka Hironaga
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron, Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- Inscription
- 大高寛長 (Ōtaka Hironaga)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Takabori (high relief), Zōgan (inlay)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (late 18th – 19th century)
- Paper number
- 2011986
- Paper date
- 18 December 2025
- Attribution on the paper
- 大高寛長 (Ōtaka Hironaga)