Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron openwork tsuba with flowering kiri branches, signed Tadashige of the Akasaka school; according to the original seller, the signature was executed by his son Tadayoshi as a daimei.
Round iron tsuba of the Akasaka school, signed on the obverse 行年八十二才忠重作 (Gyōnen hachijūni-sai Tadashige saku), "made by Tadashige at the age of eighty-two". The original seller states that this is a daimei (代銘): the piece was made by his son Tadayoshi on behalf of his elderly father, and the paper recognises it as such. The motif is nage-kiri (投桐), branches of flowering paulownia arranged in a flowing rhythm, a theme which, according to the seller, Tadayoshi treated in several versions. The photographs show clean, balanced ji-sukashi openwork, with the leaf veins engraved in kebori on both faces and a finely granulated surface, the aesthetic of empty space typical of Akasaka tsuba. It measures 76.5 × 73.3 mm, 5.5 mm thick at the seppa-dai. No active rust, knocks or cracks are visible in the photographs; the central opening is fitted with 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 Tadashige of the Akasaka school, a daimei by his son Tadayoshi according to the original seller
- Openwork of flowering kiri branches with kebori leaf veins on both faces
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
- Good apparent condition, with no active rust or visible knocks
Points to bear in mind
- The signature is a daimei: the work is by Tadayoshi on behalf of his father, according to the original seller
- The declared paper does not appear in the photographs
- The central opening is fitted with sekigane
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 48 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
- Tadashige
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Akasaka
- Inscription
- 行年八十二才忠重作 (Gyōnen hachijūni-sai Tadashige saku)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Kebori (line engraving)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (19th century)