Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron mokkō-shaped tsuba with cherry-blossom crests in takabori on an ishime ground, signed by Katsura Sōrin at the age of eighty; late Edo period.
Iron tsuba of the Katsura school, signed on the seppadai 桂宗隣 (Katsura Sōrin) 花押 (kaō) 壽八十歳作 (toshi hachijussai saku), that is, made by Sōrin at the age of eighty. The theme is the cherry in bloom: on each face, one complete cherry-blossom crest and another cut by the rim, worked in takabori, stand out against an ishime (granular) ground into which soft clouds have been carved, evoking a spring sky veiled in mist. The plate is of shallow-lobed mokkō shape with a rim treated in the manner of an uchikaeshi-mimi. According to the original seller it measures 82.8 × 77.8 mm, 5 mm thick at the seppadai, and Sōrin trained under Yokoya Eisei and Katsura Eiju before succeeding to the Katsura house and working for the Arima clan of Kurume. The photographs show dark brown iron with a crisp granular surface and no visible active rust, dents or cracks; the central opening carries a small sekigane. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a fitted paulownia box; the paper does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Signed with kaō and the mention of the maker's eightieth year
- Cherry-blossom crests in takabori on an ishime ground with carved clouds
- Iron of good colour, no visible active rust
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- Small sekigane in the central opening
- Only two photographs of moderate resolution; the rim edge is not shown
- The listing does not mention a hakogaki
Score
60.6 / 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 8.6 of 10 Rank 47 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
- Katsura Sōrin
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Katsura
- Inscription
- 桂宗隣 (Katsura Sōrin) 花押 (kaō) 壽八十歳作 (toshi hachijussai saku)
- Technique
- Takabori (high relief), Other technique
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)