Nikolas

Wow that is absolutely stunning, you are a great help and a generous person Morita san Thanks a lot!!! Greetings, Nikolas

Gentlemen, any new possible matches? greetings, Nikolas

Thank you Mr Hallam! That is interesting and good news :D as already mention by Bazza, the original Nitromors isn´t avaiable everywhere.. like here in europe. But if there is no harm to the patina i will try an avaiable paintstripper, even when not containing dichloromethane. i really haven´t thought of this radical way... especially when its so soft to the piece Greetings Nikolas

thanks gentlemen1 but i hesitate to do any harm to the piece and risking any damage to the patina and gold foil. so i will wait for the experts opinions as for a big restauration including repunching.. i don´t think i will go that far. i like the aged look, and dont want to renew the item. just wanna get rid of the grid :D greeting Nikolas

Hi Morita san, thank you very much for your kind help!! I tried to measure the menuki´s weight but my scale is only capable of dissolving up to one gram. i can only measure the single menuki as the twin is still wrapped in place. The weight is between 6-7 gram, which would perfektly fit with 12,8 gram for both of them. (the display changes between 6 and 7, but always end up with 6. Which means it is near to 6.5 but a little less (handbook). hope this helps! again Nikolas

Dear gentlemen, this is something quite interesting! this piece of paper was found sticking inside a solid gold menuki. deep in my head, i think about having heard from tiny origami with poems and or good fortune for the warrior. but also some kind of attribution to the kinko-shi. wonder what sort do we have here.. that menuki just fell of a period koshirae because of the brittle and damaged tsukamaki that is really annoying, but now there is a chance to get further insight into the history of the item and maybe its maker or owner.. so here we go.. my attempt is really lacking everything but... Mi Ka ? ichi nu suma ?? maybe lower right is yuki? What can you make out? have fun Nikolas

Thanks a lot Morita san, for your help and effort!! that sound convinving... on the other hand, i can not really see the kanji you depicted.. but what do i know of Japanese kanji and even sosho writing maybe you can enlight me how to see the kanji in the sosho script with a lot of wish i could see the kanji variation for toshi in the lower right, that Chris has posted, and i also can see hai/sakazuki on the upper left. i have made a drawing, of the tagane what made up the kanji.. sometimes hard to distinguish from the decoration tagane. Nikolas

Dear gentlemen, could the kanji on the lower left read - kore - greetings!

Thanks guys, i forgot to mention that i of course tried it with a toothbrush. as stated with water (cold/warm), foam, alcohol. But with no result! i wonder if i should drown the whole fuchi kashira in the alcohol for a couple of hours.. maybe this will macerate the coating? the ultrasonic idea, sounds good. but is is safe for the goldplating? regards, Nikolas

Hello gentlemen, here is a fuchi-kashira where its fine nanako is somewhat replenished. at first glance it looks do be some kind of dirt, but its not water-soluble. could this be some kind of glue or raisin? or is it just petrified dirt and grease from the centuries anyway with light application of 96% Ethanol, there is no change. is it appropriate trying to macerate the coating over night hopefully someone can help.. maybe Mr Hallam Greetings Nikolas

Thank you both Kevin and Brian! your help is greatly appreciated

John and Morita san!

Thank you very much, Mauro! Great to know something about the theme

here is what is inscribed on the fuchi... nagatsune + kao shoshin or gimei.. in hand it is really beautiful and delicately carved.. the insciption is not that way off but you van find irregularities. if any of you guys can shed a bit of light on the subject, i would be very pleased :D

hello gentlemen, here is a fuchi/kashira pair where i would consider a multi nanako punch (6/8 dots) was used to cover the main area of the surface and only near the ornaments a single punch filled up the gaps... i think this was quite common or is it way off and my eyes are greetings!