Spartancrest

Well I congratulate your taste in the Iron tsuba you have chosen ! If that is the DARK WORLD, then I vote for turning out the lights!

Colin, I have seen similar designs in the past that look like the thicker rim has been removed - looking like this altered image of your guard. I will need to search to find a better example.

A cheap and the usual condition [nasty] on eBay now https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/307009738153 The seller usually deals in very ordinary pieces but reasonable starting prices - it is not his fault there are people who want to pay too much!

NO NO NO! Sorry Pown, these are always cast! 99% also have lost the face of the man - it was "glued" on and not truly inlaid. There are two sizes as well [The horses head is positioned slightly differently]. The difference in detail is because the moulds wear out - some were reworked but minimally Very rare "intact" version Don't feel too bad the Victoria & Albert Museum [V&A] also has one in its collection - so I guess you could say you have a "Museum Quality Tsuba" https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O466167/tsuba/ or in reality even the biggest museums have little idea of the authenticity of their pieces. Is it too late to send the thing back and ask for a refund?

Well I think Jason has it correct, the two on the right are indeed fakes - however when you look at the prices some on eBay are charging for one fake, the $400 for two "real" plus two throwaways is not that bad! https://www.ebay.com/itm/287338935344 Also found in the Cornell University Museum https://emuseum.cornell.edu/search/98.103.017 Like many museums it has several cast fakes! You are right to give the auction a miss - or you could ask if the lot can be split, unlikely as how would the owner get rid of the fakes!

You might be looking at the style the wrong way around - French Art Nouveau took its inspiration from contact with the Japanese. French Art Nouveau was profoundly influenced by Japanese art and design. This cross-cultural exchange—often referred to as Japonisme—sparked a revolution in European visual culture following the opening of Japanese trade in the mid-19th century. Art Nouveau artists broke away from rigid European traditions of perfect symmetry, favoring dynamic, off-center framing and diagonals inspired by Japanese masters. So I guess why it looks Art Nouveau is because the Japanese invented it! Perhaps the style should be called "Art Nihon"?

This thread might help !

No help with the meaning or translation, but I find the mirror symmetry very unusual. Perhaps it is just made to give the impression it is "ancient"?

You can check the size of the circular punch marks making up the background, at the time the guard would have been made the punch would have been hand made [possibly by the same smith as the tsuba itself] if the punch marks are identical size it would not be surprising that both guards were made by the same tools and at least possible the same person - of course the tools could be handed down from one smith to another. Getting back to your first guard I just noticed it has a "Fukure" - a blister in the metal surface where the folding of the metal has failed to adhere and peeled up. Not uncommon. A "fukure" guarantees the guard is not cast.

What do we think of this one? https://www.jauce.com/auction/x1233653264 Repro or the real thing?

Haven't we all! I sometimes put this little thought in my head - "Could I have made this piece as well as it is, for the price I actually paid for it?" - The answer invariably is NO. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like a better one, but it helps just a little.

Dean, I think you will find plenty of cut out habaki in this thread - it is very extensive and might take some time.