Rodenbacher

Finally, customs has done its job and the Kunichika tsuba arrived today with me! A very nice piece, thank you very much!

A very nice variety of styles and artists! Great!

If you ever visit Paris, be sure you have a room in the Tsuba Hotel (near Arc de Triomphe) :

Tsuba-shaped coasters made of rubber.

Tsuba-shaped lacquer box.

Bought this two years ago. Unsigned, very good iron definitely not cast. Unfortunately my camera can't show the true color of the iron. Peter

Yes, you are right, customs is a pain in the a.. and in Germany I will have to add 19% VAT to the price and the shipping costs. But to be honest: even adding 19% these are very good prices for Kanayama Tsuba and these two are definitely worth it. I already own two Kanayama and I paid way more for each of them. And I will buy the Kunichika. Peter

Hello Jussi, could you please show pictures from both sides of the tang? This would help a lot. Peter

There is nothing wrong with your sword or the price or the offer. Other sellers have similar problems as we live in hard times and people fear high prices for nearly everything, holding back their bucks, so selling a good sword lasts longer than it did two or three years ago. Your sword would have sold really fast back then. Just look at the offers of other sellers here, we have some really good swords and Tosogu offered at the moment, most offers are ridiculously cheap, but they don't sell. So please be patient a with us for a while...

PM sent

PM sent.

Hi Krystian, could you please show some more pictures of nr. 5 and 6?

So I will start with 80 Euro!

Another one with a two-tone background. You will see these more often: one side is the day-side, the other represents the night: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/34452

Ah, yes, an orchid! Thank you very much, Pietro, you are a Gentlemen, too! And no Peony but a Chrysanthemum, right (I don't own a garden...). I find this Tsuba really stunning! The idea to use 4 Metals in the Background is rarely seen. here or there you might see two metals, but 4?

Dear fellow Board members, today I want to discuss this Tsuba from the collection of the MMoA: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/34423 Unfortunately the MMoA collection does not give any further information about the Signature, school or the topic shown here etc. I guess it's a depiction of the four seasons: the peony blooms in summer and bamboo survives winter, the plum for spring - but what's that flower for the fall? What do you think about this one? Regards Peter

Thanks a lot, this is all valuable information!

Hi John, Great, thank you very much!

I recently acquired these Menuki which depict a rarely seen topic on sword fittings: Yokai. These have been very common as a motif for Okimono or Netsuke, but I guess that a Samurai would not show them on his weapons. They would rather be an enemy of a Samurai if they existed or maybe the topic was too childish for a serious Katana Koshirae... Here we have a Kara-Kasa (the Umbrella) and one from the Family of the Tsukumo-Gami (old household-goods), a bowl and a mortar for grinding ginger. They are obviously late Edo or even Meiji or Showa, were never mounted (maybe thought of as a gift) on a Tsuka but glued to a piece of cardboard - and they are very well done, it's really fine work. Also they are signed - can somebody help me with the translation? Thanks a lot! Peter

Somebody in Germany tried to sell me another example of the rooster Tsuba which was exactly like that in the Bonham's auction and he even told me that it was the Bonham's piece, he won the auction. In fact it was just another copy of that. I had it in hand and on the first glance it looked okay, but on the second I could see that it was not made by a tsubako, no traces of chiseling, no nuances, no traces of wear or age - anything very lifeless, very industrial. But it was nearly perfectly made, don't underestimate the fakers, and I think without a lot of experience someone will easily step into that trap.

I see Geese flying in front of the full moon. If you look at the Form in the blue "circle" (sorry, just a quick try) you will see what I mean.

Even a Daisho pair! That's really awesome. You don't see that often.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a Kozuka/Kogatana combination in its collection, which I have never seen before: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/35064 The Kogatana itself has an inlay, a thing I have never seen before. Is that common or is that unique? Peter