Help With Theme?

[RobertM]

Would anyone be kind enough to identify the theme? Appears to be a dragon? Flowers/plum tree, a book and a plate/mirror of some kind? The tsuba appears to have a almost black coating, thick and heavy around 8cm.

[Tanto54]

Dear Robert,

 

Can you provide a better picture of the front (this one is a little small and difficult to see the details)?  I'm fairly sure that the element on the left front is Ikebana (a flower arrangement).  The two elements on the back are definitely books.  I'm guessing that the circular element on the right bottom front is a Mongolian shield (can you tell what was in the middle of the circle or is it too worn?).  Without a better picture, I don't know if I'll be able to offer more.  So far the only theme that I can come up with is the roots or history of Ikebana (with the Dragon representing China and the Mongolian Shield representing Korea - Ikebana came to Japan with Buddhism from China via Korea).  I don't have much confidence in that interpretation, but it's the best I can do with these photos.

[RobertM]

Hi George, closes ups attached. Would the dragon motif be a page turner?

[RobertM]

Better pic attached

[Tanto54]

Dear Michael,

 

Thanks for the better pictures.  I think that a page turner is a good guess especially because of the two books depicted on the back.  However, Japanese page turners (see photo below) almost always have a distinctive "handle" that is a different size and shape than the "blade" of the page turner.  Therefore, I think that if the Tsubashi wanted to depict a page turner, then he would have shown the handle and blade so the viewer would be able to recognize it immediately (so my guess is that it is not a page turner).  As an alternative, it could be a bunchin (paperweight), but I’m just guessing too.

 

How many toes does the Dragon have?  Even with the better pictures, it's hard for me to see the toes.  Many Japanese artists will follow the convention of three toes for a "Japanese" dragon and four or five toes for a dragon that represents China.  As for the other unidentified element on the front (the circular object at the bottom) I have attached a few Mongolian shield pictures for you to compare (but I still do not have much faith in that interpretation either...)

 

What do you think is behind/under the Ikebana?  I appears to be a board to me with a mokume (wood grain) surface, but the perspective is very strange (Japanese often didn’t use a true or accurate perspective in their antique art).  I can’t tell if it is a wood bench that the Ikebana is setting on or something that is more vertical.

 

Sorry, more questions than answers.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RobertM]

Hi George, after a bit of research i wonder if the shield shaped object is in fact a Dharma Wheel. I can just make out what could be tomoe shapes in the center which could represent the circle of life. The dragon toes are hard to make out but looks like 3. Perhaps all imagery on the tsuba is buddist related. 

 

thanks

[TETSUGENDO]

Robert,

 

I believe the rectangular object with rounded end represents sumi(ink).

 

-StevenK

[SteveM]

↑　I was thinking this also, and wondering if the overall theme wasn't just "arts and culture", represented by books, calligraphy, ikebana, etc... 

[Henry Wilson]

The round item could be a mirror.  Lots of classics have kagami in the title, supporting the arts and culture theme...

[TETSUGENDO]

A mirror would fit the arts and culture theme.  Perhaps it is a dish for rinsing brushes, the theme represented could be articles found on an artist/scholars table.

 

-StevenK

[SteveM]

I would have guessed "bunchin" (paperweight) for the round thing. 

[RobertM]

Thanks for all the comments, very interesting.