Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
The piece
Round iron tsuba of the Muromachi period, pierced as sun rays (hiashi) and traced with brass inlaid lines in a comb-tooth pattern; attributed to the Heianjō zōgan school.
Unsigned round iron tsuba (marugata), attributed by the original seller to the Heianjō zōgan school on the strength of an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper that does not appear in the photographs. The design is a sun-ray piercing, hiashi-sukashi: around the oval seppa-dai four large openings, crossed by thin spokes, alternate with four solid sectors. These sectors and the whole rim carry brass inlaid lines (zōgan) worked as small comb teeth (kushiba), set in concentric arcs. It is a decoration of dots and strokes in the manner of Ōnin tsuba, the simplest within the work attributed to Heianjō zōgan, and it gives the piece a markedly archaic character. According to the original seller it measures 88 × 88 mm, 3 mm thick at the seppa-dai, and comes in a paulownia (kiri) box. The photographs, of both faces, show the brass almost complete, with no visible knocks or cracks; the iron has a textured, dark brown surface, redder on the seppa-dai. No hitsu-ana or sekigane are visible.
Strong points
- Iron tsuba of the Muromachi period, according to the original seller
- Sun-ray piercing (hiashi-sukashi) with comb-tooth brass inlay
- Archaic decoration of strokes and dots, in the line of Ōnin tsuba
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper declared by the original seller, attributing it to Heianjō zōgan
- Brass inlay almost complete on both faces
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not appear in the photographs; its level and attribution are those declared by the original seller
- Unsigned: this is a school attribution, not a maker's
- The seppa-dai shows a reddish tone; the low-resolution photographs do not show whether there is active rust
- Only two photographs; the rim edge is not shown
Score
57.6 / 100
- Maker 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 12 of 12 Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 8.6 of 10 Rank 51 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
- Heianjō zōgan
- Period
- Muromachi or earlier (before 1573)
- Material
- Iron, Brass
- Paper
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Signature
- Unsigned (mumei)
- Technique
- Sukashi (openwork), Zōgan (inlay)
- Dating
- Muromachi period (14th–16th century)