Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Iron aori-gata tsuba from Higo with a highly stylised rain dragon, attributed to Jingo according to the Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller.
Unsigned iron tsuba of aori-gata shape, attributed by the original seller to Jingo, one of the Higo masters, with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper. According to the seller, this attribution is reserved for the first three generations of the name. It depicts an amaryū (rain dragon), rendered in a very abstract manner and coiled in a circular movement around the central opening, with clouds on the reverse. The surface keeps the marks of the hammer, evoking a heavy sky, and the dragon is carved in low relief over a cross-hatched silver nunome ground that also runs along the rim. The photographs show this nunome heavily subdued and darkened, blending into the iron, a feature the seller regards as part of the charm of such pieces. No active rust, cracks or knocks are visible; there are sekigane in the central opening. It measures 81.5 × 79 mm, 3 mm thick at the seppa-dai, and comes in a fitted kiri box.
Strong points
- Attributed to Jingo, a Higo master, with a declared Tokubetsu Hozon paper
- Highly stylised rain dragon in a circular composition
- Hammered iron with silver nunome
- Fitted kiri box
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: an attribution by the paper, which is not shown in the photographs
- The silver nunome is heavily subdued and partly lost
- Sekigane fitted in the central opening
Score
59.7 / 100
- Maker 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 4.7 of 10 Rank 178 of 338 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
- Jingo
- Period
- Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Material
- Iron, Silver
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Attributed (den)
- School
- Higo
- Technique
- Nunome (damascening), Zōgan (inlay), Other technique
- Dating
- Mid-Edo period (17th–18th century)