Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Unsigned mokkō-shaped yamagane tsuba attributed to the Ko-Kinkō school, with vine leaves and grape clusters in flat gold, copper and silver inlay, Momoyama period.
Unsigned tsuba which the original seller attributes to the Ko-Kinkō school, the early soft-metal craftsmen who preceded the great Edo schools, and dates to the Momoyama period. The shape is mokkō-gata (木瓜形), four-lobed, on a plate of yamagane (山銅), a dark unrefined copper; it measures 85.5 × 78.8 mm, with a seppa-dai thickness of 3.3 mm. The theme is a fruiting grapevine: large leaves in flat gold inlay, hira-zōgan, with the veins chiselled in kebori line engraving, copper-toned tendrils winding across the field, and clusters of grapes in a pale metal the seller describes as silver. The photographs show the composition arranged around the seppa-dai on both faces, with precise and balanced drawing. The seller relates it to the taste of Umetada Myōju and notes that such work anticipates that aesthetic. The inlays appear complete, with no cracks, knocks or active rust; the central opening is fitted with sekigane. According to the seller, it comes with an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper and a fitted paulownia box.
Strong points
- Grapevine theme in gold, copper and silver hira-zōgan
- Fine kebori on the leaf veins
- Mokkō-shaped yamagane plate, Momoyama period according to the seller
- Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller
- Fitted paulownia box
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the Ko-Kinkō attribution is the seller's; the paper is not shown in the photographs
- The central opening is fitted with sekigane
- The listing does not mention a hakogaki
Score
61.9 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 11 of 12 Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 8.9 of 10 Rank 40 of 346 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
- School
- Ko-Kinkō
- Period
- Momoyama (1573–1615)
- Material
- Other material, Gold, Copper, Silver
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Kebori (line engraving), Zōgan (inlay), Iroe (coloured inlay)
- Dating
- Momoyama period (late 16th century)