Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Pair of gold menuki with a flock of plovers (群千鳥, mure-chidori), signed on the edge 味墨 (Miboku), master of the Hamano house.
Pair of menuki on the theme of a flock of plovers (群千鳥, mure-chidori), a composition the original seller presents as one of the favourites of Miboku, fourth master of the Hamano house. According to the original seller, the metal is solid gold (金無垢, kin-muku), worked in katachibori (容彫, katachibori), fully modelled in the round, with raised edges and a soft, rounded form. The photographs show three overlapping birds on each piece, their feathers rendered with chisel strokes and their eyes punched, and the attachment posts on the reverse. The signature is split between the two pieces on the edge (割際端銘, wari-kibata-mei): 味 (Mi) on one and 墨 (boku) on the other, legible in the close-ups. According to the original seller, the omote menuki measures 36.6 mm and the ura menuki 34 mm. The photographs show no dents or losses; the reverse bears small dark spots. The original seller declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (特別保存刀装具, tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu) and a custom-fitted paulownia box; the paper does not appear in the photographs.
Strong points
- Solid gold (kin-muku), according to the original seller
- Split signature on the edge, 味墨 (Miboku), visible in the photographs
- Flock of plovers, a characteristic theme of the maker according to the original seller
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs.
- Photographs of limited resolution.
- The listing does not mention a hakogaki; the declared box is paulownia, with no inscription stated.
Score
60 / 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 of 10 Rank 8 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
- Hamano Miboku
- Period
- Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Material
- Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- School
- Hamano
- Inscription
- 味墨 (Hamano Miboku)
- Technique
- Other technique
- Dating
- Late Edo period