Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
A pair of menuki with a design of arms, signed in waritanzaku-mei by Iwamoto Konkan and designated Jūyō Tōsōgu by the NBTHK at its 49th session (2003).
A pair of menuki by Iwamoto Konkan, master of the Iwamoto school of Edo whose work, according to the paper, joins the Yokoya tradition with a study of the Nara carving of Yasuchika. The omote menuki combines a tachi mounting with a war fan; the ura menuki, a bow crossed with a sode (armour shoulder guard). The paper reads the pair as probably a rusu-moyō alluding to Hachiman Tarō Yoshiie. Both are carved in the round (katachibori) on a copper ground, with shakudō, okigane and gold and silver inlay with iroe; the photographs show the fan with shakudō and copper ribs, the wrapped hilt, the gilt cords and the gold crosses on the shoulder guard. On the reverse, each menuki carries a small plaque with one character of the signature, 昆 (Kon) and 寛 (Kan): a split signature or waritanzaku-mei. The photographs show no knocks or noticeable loss of gilding. The pair was designated 重要刀装具 (Jūyō Tōsōgu) by the NBTHK on 9 October 2003, at the 49th session, and is presented in a wooden box lined with purple cloth.
Strong points
- NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu designation (49th session, 2003)
- Signed by Iwamoto Konkan with a split signature (waritanzaku-mei)
- Composition of arms: tachi mounting with war fan, and bow with sode
- Katachibori in copper with shakudō, okigane, gold and silver inlay and iroe
Points to bear in mind
- The reading of the motif as an allusion to Hachiman Tarō Yoshiie is the paper's own hypothesis ("probably").
- Photographs of moderate resolution: fine wear of the gilding on the high points cannot be judged in detail.
- The wooden box shows no inscription; the listing does not mention a hakogaki.
Score
72 / 100
- Maker 25 of 25 Genuine signature of a first-rank master, confirmed by the paper
- Workmanship 20 of 20 Exceptional work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 8 of 10 NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 0 of 10 Rank 36 of 36 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
- Menuki
- Maker
- Iwamoto Konkan
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Copper, Shakudō, Gold, Silver
- Paper
- NBTHK Jūyō Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Iwamoto
- Inscription
- 昆・寛 (Iwamoto Konkan)
- Technique
- Other technique, Zōgan (inlay), Iroe (coloured inlay)
- Dating
- Late Edo period (late 18th century)
- Paper date
- 9 October 2003
- Attribution on the paper
- 昆寛 (Konkan)