Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round iron tsuba with a wheel openwork design (kuruma-sukashi), unsigned and attributed to the Ōno group of the Owari tradition; the original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
Round (maru-gata) iron tsuba, unsigned (mumei), which the original seller describes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper attributing it to Ōno (大野), a group within the Owari tsuba tradition known for its rustic, robust character. The motif is a wheel (kuruma-sukashi): a thick rim joined to the seppa-dai by eight spokes, with two lobed openings on either side of the central opening. According to the seller it measures 69 × 66.8 mm, 4 mm thick at the seppa-dai and 7 mm at the rim, and the iron, black in tone and dense in texture, shows tekkotsu not only on the rim but also across the plate; the photographs show this granular surface with dark knots. The relatively large seppa-dai is one of the points the listing highlights. As for condition, the photographs show no active rust, cracks or breaks; there are sekigane in the central opening, which is usual. The seller dates it to the beginning of the Edo period and states that it comes in a paulownia (kiri) box with a fitted base; the listing does not mention a hakogaki.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper declared by the seller, attributing it to Ōno
- Restrained, strong wheel openwork typical of the Owari tradition
- Thick, dark iron with tekkotsu visible on the rim and the plate
- Broad seppa-dai and thickened rim (7 mm according to the seller)
- Supplied in a paulownia box according to the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs; it is recorded by the original seller's statement
- Unsigned: attribution to a school group, not to an individual maker
- Sekigane in the central opening
Score
55.8 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 9 of 12 Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 9.8 of 10 Rank 6 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
- Ono
- Period
- Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Material
- Iron
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- School
- Ōno (大野), Owari
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork)
- Dating
- Early Edo period (17th century)