Ford Hallam

ha ha ...It took me a while but I get it, Milt...a pc mouse...a whole range of them coming up :D Hi Donnovan, thank you, glad it does it for you . I'm going off the idea of posting huge enlargements of my work because although it does allow you to see every tiny detail it actually gives a very false impression of the intensity of such small scale work. If you look at the image of the stone in my hand you can see the effect of the wings is in fact very subtle, from certain angles the veins aren't actually visible, just the iridescence of the nacre. The images I posted are already double life size. Sorry, that's all you're getting...as it is the images have the lightness of the dragonfly and the impression that itis flying over the stone.

Thanks for the recommendation, John. I actually quite enjoy working on soft-metal tsuba so the job was a pleasure. ...and thank you for the kind words, Gentlemen John ( Stuart ) these shinchu type tsuba were all originally patinated various shades of ochre like this. The appearance of most tsuba made of this sort of alloy is just due to excessive handling. This particular patina is one of the more delicate ones and in time they have simply been polished up by hand, literally The actual colours you can see, and each tsuba is of a different composition, is due entirely to the make up of the alloy. Unfortunately, due to surface corrosion, much of it invisible to the naked eye, the actual composition on the face of the plate is frequently, slightly different to that in the core of the metal. Thankfully this is not always the case and examples that have not suffered thus provide a good base line in terms of judging the accuracy of the colours. What this means is that unless a fresh surface is created it will be impossible to recover the colour as it was when new but with a little tweaking I'm generally able to find a reasonable balance. My reluctance to re-polish the surface is down to the fact that the piece then ends up looks far too perfect and new. I use a classical approach and the actual solution is roughly the same, very mild copper salt mix as traditionally used. The temperature and the additions of a few other, balancing ingredients, in tiny quantities, are all I play with. Thanks again all, Regards, Ford

Hello Joe, do you know Les Stuart?....he is just outside Glasgow, on the coast. A damn fine polisher and generally decent chap. Don't mention to him I said so... . He would possibly be a good start with your idea to start something "north of the border". PM me if you need contact details. Good luck....I know what miserable so and so's the Scots can be...and they aren't very good at working together at all

Greetings all, I've just completed a piece, that despite not being part of a sword, is ultimately derived almost completely from this tradition. This is classical Japanese metalwork, as practised by the masters of the past, but for a non sword wearing clientèle. Here's a link to a short slide show. Iron, shell, shakudo, brass, silver and little bit of gold ...I look forward to you impressions...and NO!...I can't do a tsuba just like it regards, Ford

Hi Milt, I imagine by "typical" you mean his landscapes. I would probably tend to agree with you as I find them to be quite contrived or compared to the original Chinese inspiration. I agree also that I think they might well seem very "suspect" were they to be reinterpreted in iron. Having said that I think many of his other types of painting are absolutely wonderful and one in particular is urging me to attempt a similar aesthetic in metal. If I do have a go I'll be sure to let you all make your judgements This is the painting I mean... Guido, In my opinion the term "kinko" to differentiate a particular group of workers from the early iron guard makes only really makes sense when applied to Goto and Mino work. Once we get into the Edo period the proliferation of the machibori pretty much makes such absolute classification a bit meaningless in strict material use terms. The Hamano group in particular must get the prize for the best treatment of iron grounds that are then embellished with classic kinko iro-e work. The impression I have is that iron was simply treated as part of the palette and was utilised whenever its colours and textures were wanted. In exactly the same way as all the other metals and alloys were utilised. With regard to Yasuchika though I get the general impression that he worked principally in soft metal but was free to use iron, as he did, as part of his palette. Certainly when I think of his work it is the soft metal that springs to mind but now I think about it he does seem to have been quite partial to iron too, although he always treated the metal as is a very delicate way, almost sensual in his touch. What he did do, that is notable, is develop some lovely textural grounds as alternatives to nanako. One story has it that he couldn't afford the costly services of nanako specialists so he improvised :D

sorry, John...the discussion isn't really saying all that much about your tsuba but here's another painting that I think would make a perfect Kanie design. This time by a Japanese, Muromachi period artist. I think the "Japanisation" of the Chinese originals is evident and further hints, to my eyes at least, the sort of adaptation an artist working in metal, like Kanie, might have found necessary. regards, Ford

hey, Brian...let's not forget Shimizu Jingu, Hoan, Yamakichibei, some of the Myochin works etc, etc. :D ...and to add a little more in terms of reference material here's a link to 3 more very good Kanie tsuba and one by Yasuchika that illustrates his ability to model iron very sensitively also. Once you've clicked on the image you can see an even larger version by clicking on the little magnifying glass just above the top right corner of the image. The thing I wanted to suggest when I said that this tsuba ( Doctor John's ) was too refined was that the first generation Kanie has a very distinctive, and soft, slightly grainy feel to his carving. Although at first glance it might appear to be less skilful it is in fact not that easy to create this sort of "artless" feeling in metal. I believe this was a conscious choice by Kanie as part of his expression of the sort of feeling that one gets from the original Sung dynasty painting that were his inspiration. This is the sort of painting I'm talking about. This one is actually a Japanese National treasure and dates from the 13th cent. Painted by Liang Kai

Cheers, Pete...my point exactly...we are talking about subjective criteria here and the subject; ie; Doc's tsuba is actually the focus....we need to remain as objective as possible if we are to work towards any sort of assessment. The appropriate place, in my opinion, for discussions about the ultimate aesthetic is in a salubrious setting while supping ones preferred tipple with equally incorrigible persons. :D There is no real argument from me re; Kanie surface finish...I wish I could do the same , ...or even Nobuie...if I must settle for second best ... in terms of getting it all together...well, there again we are talking about a very subjective set of criteria. No argument that anyone could invent can even begin to hint otherwise....how's that for an objective fact? Richard, my point about the imagery that Kanie transformed was not really about the "pictorials" at all, it rarely is with the serious artists. It was, as I wrote, the way he translated that painterly effect into iron. Not merely a rendition of a picture in metal but a complete absorption of the aesthetic of the original Chinese artists expression and a personal, material specific ( ie; iron ) , re-animation. This was Kanie's real genius.....just making beautiful surface textures is still in the realm of pure craft. Going beyond that is the work of art and to that end he developed his particular surface treatment to facilitate his own expression. ( as part of a more complex artistic expression ) This is what artists do....

.... well...in the face of such overwhelming, and objective, factual assessment of aesthetics there is obviously nothing more to say on this forum....

WELL....Pete, that's a contentious point if every there was one . Nobuie would be a contender at least... I would suggest that a major part of the deserved fame of early Kanie work is the way it "translates" Sung dynasty ink painting ( the Chinese painter Mokkei in particular ) aesthetics into iron. This, of course, was part of the absorption of Taoist and Chan philosophies and is therefore a significant point in the evolution of warrior culture.

I think that it is perhaps a little too refined for the Kaneie appellation. I know Yasuchika used that little punt at least once...I wonder if there might be an influence from that school instead. The nakago-ana is a little reminiscent of Yasuchika also.

Hmm...the second kanji ( myo ) does look like it was written in the same, characteristic way as the Jumyo swordsmiths. Didn't you have a sword by that group a little while ago, John? also, this is an excellent example of an "over-cleaned" iron tsuba Some over zealous person was obviously no fan of " wabi-sabi"

...and for what it's worth, the inlay looks quite good to me. Of course this doesn't mean it is correct though :D I just point it out to suggest that this "attribution" is possibly Edo period and not the work of a contemporary con-man. regards all, Ford p.s. this is only really reliable kinmei in my opinion

Thanks, Steve...nice one

The second character is "yasu". The first is unfamiliar to my eyes in this form but it might be a variant of "kiyo" if I were to hazard a guess. I don't recognise the kao. regards, Ford

I must concur with our fearless leader on this one. Modern ( ie; last week ) amateur work and not very good at that.

Hi Jacques, This statement of yours isn't always true at all...the history of art collecting is full of examples of dramatic falls in value of, once, highly regarded art. In any case comparing meibutsu to a "van Gogh" doesn't really prove anything because these are such extreme examples. To make the point you need to use more generally applicable examples not the exceptional ones.

I think we need to be clear by what we mean when we say " a good investment". I took that to mean a way of putting your money into something ( in this case a sword ) for a period of time and watching the market value of that object increase ahead of inflation. Simply finding things to buy at a relatively cheap price and reselling for a small profit is merely being a merchant. Dealers, on the other hand, buy swords at reasonable prices and resell them to us for a wildly inflated profit

Hey Milt, "proper" Samurai wouldn't have dirtied their hands with filthy money ...and the thought of actually making a profit would have been disgusting, particularly in relation the their swords :lol: he he, this must be why I've never got any money...too much Bushido ...but in answer to the initial query; I'd say that Japanese swords in general make poor investments today. The market is probably a little slow/depressed at the moment, the last 5 ~ 7 years, particularly compared to the 80's. In addition to the cost of the blades we often need to factor in the restoration and papering costs, not to mention the time spent studying. In my view this is all a labour of love and I think we'll only fool ourselves if we try to "make believe" we're also being clever with this hobby because of some possible investment potential. The Compton collection sale was an obvious exception though, but the conditions under which it was collected are unlikely to occur again. cheers, Ford

Hi Curran, thank you, I'm pleased someone found my little ramble of interest cheers, Ford

Absolutely superb, Darcy stunning detail and clarity regards, Ford

Incidentally, it might be accurate to describe this as a kenjo tsuba. These were highly elaborate nunome zogan tsuba apparently given as gifts and not really intended to be mounted. This design is not by any means unique and Edo period versions of this sort of tsuba are not at all uncommon.

For starters I think the use of the word fake in this instance is not really applicable. The technique used for the decoration is nunome-zogan ( ie; cloth weave overlay ) This is quite a demanding process and definitely not something someone can just "decide to have a go" with. This particular pattern is not uncommon on the Meiji period export wares made by a studio called Komai.( There were a couple of other studios doing similar work also ) The workshop was based in Kyoto and evidence seems to suggest that the artisans who made these articles came originally from Higo province. It looks to me as though this tsuba has never been mounted and whether you want to call this a tsuba or merely a tsuba shaped object is a moot point :? . The hitsu-ana are nicely shaped but do cut into the seppa-dai area a bit more than is usual. The nakago-ana is also a bit small, too high and skew. In my opinion though, this is a genuine and honest piece of work. The condition is not particularly surprising to me. I have probably cleaned more than a couple of hundred pieces of this sort of work and as often as not the condition was remarkably good. It should also be noted that high purity gold doesn't tarnish ( this is why it is so desirable :D ) so regardless of it's age the gold can appear brand new, all it takes it a gentle buff with a cotton cloth. Having said all this my feeling is that this is not Edo period, possibly Meiiji and quite likely from the Komai workshops. It is ( as I've already suggested ), in my opinion, a genuine piece of work. Another possibility is that it was made in the last 50 years by one of the students of Tahei Yonemitsu. He was a National living treasure from Kumamoto ( Higo ) and he specialised in this technique. He died circa 1972...I think. Just my thoughts while having my first cuppa this morning regards, Ford

Hi Piers, I think those marks are on the wrong side, ie; facing the saya, to have been made as you suggest. cheers, Ford

Hi Ken, yes, that's the one. A useful reference. The only reference I found to your quest was that little section though. Might be worth doing a search online for any other papers by Joly. I'll keep an eye open... regards, Ford