Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Shakudō tsuba depicting the Eight Views of Ōmi as a twilight landscape, signed 細野惣左衛門 (Hosono Sōzaemon), with a gold crescent moon as its only touch of colour.
Tsuba by Hosono Masamori, a Kyoto goldsmith (Yamashiro province), signed 細野惣左衛門 (Hosono Sōzaemon) beside the seppa-dai. The subject is the Eight Views of Ōmi, 近江八景 (Ōmi hakkei), the most famous landscape on the shores of Lake Biwa, treated on both faces as dusk: mountains and clouds in low relief, houses, a pagoda, a bridge and willows in kebori and katakiribori, and the mist rendered in dense stippling that recedes into the distance. According to the original seller, gold is reserved for the crescent moon, in hira-zōgan, evoking the hour when the shore dissolves into darkness. The plate is black shakudō, 82.2 × 77 mm and 4.5 mm thick at the seppa-dai, according to the listing. The hitsu-ana are plugged with a gilt metal. The photographs show no dents, cracks, rust or loss of gold, and the engraving reads crisply. The original seller dates it to the early Edo period and declares an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper and a fitted paulownia box.
Strong points
- Signed 細野惣左衛門 (Hosono Sōzaemon)
- The Eight Views of Ōmi as a nightfall landscape across both faces
- Black shakudō with kebori, katakiribori and stippled mist
- Inlaid gold crescent moon as the sole accent of colour
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper declared by the original seller
Points to bear in mind
- The declared Tokubetsu Hozon paper does not appear in the photographs.
- The photographs are small and do not show the rim.
- The hitsu-ana are plugged with metal; the listing does not specify which.
Score
66.8 / 100
- Maker 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 18 of 18 Excellent 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 1.8 of 10 Rank 277 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
- Hosono Masamori
- Period
- Early Edo (1615–1688)
- Material
- Shakudō, Gold
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Signed
- Inscription
- 細野惣左衛門 (Hosono Sōzaemon)
- Technique
- Kebori (line engraving), Katakiribori (bevelled chisel engraving), Zōgan (inlay), Other technique
- Dating
- Early Edo period (17th century)