Spartancrest

You bet! Like swallowing a fish hook - fishes revenge?

A friend sent me a link to a strange looking tsuba design currently up for auction: The image [eventually] sparked my memory of a similar themed guard in the Royal Ontario Museum: However that description just does not gel [a design of leaves "After the style of Risei of Sadol"] Having found that image, I found another from Japan with a much more plausible explanation of the design. https://www.seiyudo.com/tu-120519.htm Bream bones With that clue I found this image which would seem to confirm the fish bone accuracy. What do others think?

It is just YOU. No there are some "spectacular" fakes getting about [But this is not one of them!]- the production techniques are improving all the time - I don't envy future generations at all. Is there such a thing as "Deepfake tsuba"?

https://en.japantrav...antler-cutting/23785 I fed some deer at Nara in 2016 - we were at the wrong time of year to see the antlers being cut. Just out of interest some of the antlers have become tsuba! Oh no! https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1157889471 Yes you guessed it - FROM NARA!

A couple of other examples: 1. a Facebook site for a Japanese dealer https://www.facebook...sumoto/?locale=es_LA This one was sold back in January [price unknown] 2. An example from Greville Cooke's book on the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery number 1930M731 75 mm x 72 mm x 5 mm. 3. From the Cleveland Museum of Art number 1919.302 70 mm in Diam. 4. Ashmolean Museum , Oxford number EAX.10673 https://jameelcentre...ction/8/object/21277 http://jameelcentre....0/EA_X_10673-a-L.jpg 5. & 6. From Cornell University and a Bonhams auction back in 2008 where one sold for £780 7. Christies auction https://www.christie...m/en/lot/lot-4962432 An Akasaka Tadatoki Tsuba Edo period (19th century), signed Tadatoki saku. With a delicate lobed rim and pierced with chrysanthemum petals and leaves around the edges and carved on the web with leaves in ke-bori 2 5/8in. (6.8cm.) [18 Sep 2007] - are they cheaper by the dozen?

Probably correct, I thought the smaller one was like a "closer up" image of the same view - but there are a lot of cobbled together "Daisho"

Getting totally but I just found a daisho with a similar theme to the one you had Colin - in Iron https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/395806842143 I don't know but a daisho that looks that intact seems very reasonably priced, I thought it would be worth more than what it is being offered for?

Skater boy comes from: The Edward Wrangham Collection part V 5 November 2014 London Lot 11 Description: Ichinomiya school, 18th to 19th century carved in relief with Hangai (in Chinese, Fan Kuai) carrying a door, signed Sessan with kao, 7.6cm (3in). I don't know, but if that is a DOOR under his arm, what is his right hand resting on? The gate to Jurassic Park?

Estimate at the auction was Est: €1,600 EUR - €1,920 EUR November 08, 2013 I can only imagine what it would cost today! Cockerel on a drum nothing like the style we are looking for. This has the triple tomoe [mitsudomoe (三ツ巴)] on the drum head.

All I can find are two with the same type of drum, no rooster.

Some references refer to Noshi [shaved dried abalone] as being wrapped in coloured paper or fabric - so you may be correct both ways. Things change and now Noshi can refer to the paper "gift wrapping" alone. I guess the more elaborate the Noshi the more thought has gone into the gift? A group of nine-item engagement gifts, including dried abalone (2nd from right), dried bonito (4th from right), dried inkfish (5th from right), dried kelp (6th from right)

Oh the late 70s and 80s - those were the days for Bolo ties! https://www.jauce.com/auction/w1119742428 never used - must have been a gift at the end of the trend!

No not really - but it does look similar.

There are over 350 types of clematis flowers globally. There are dozens of types of flowers that are possible, and adding in "artistic license" the design may just be generic - also were these made in Japan, China, Vietnam or somewhere else? I think we are getting dangerously close to

Lotus clematis What I need is to see what the design was like for the middle part of the flower - I can't imagine I will find it.

Yes I think so too - but I like to show some other examples so people can work it out themselves

Piers I don't know what plant they depict - Clematis or Lotus? The seven I have come in Maru, five lobed, six lobed, cut down with a fukurin [I can't tell what shape it started as], cut out petals and with flat petals. I have seen an eight lobed and a square one but they all have the same flower based centre. There are a very few with nunome and one of mine has silver liners to the hitsu. Shibuiswords had an article about the two they had, described as Asian export/Nanban. I have records of 25 of these so far, no two are the same and all appear hand made.

My first thought was cast with some rework - but those feet are very poorly done.

Six of a kind - but individuals Make that seven!

Namban/Hizen? Squirrels in the grapes. A common theme but not seen very often in namban. Difficult to tell age of namban as very few were signed [if any?] Copper version here from the Ashmolean museum. https://jameelcentre...ction/8/object/21150 I show the ura view, you can find the omote on the link [ura difficult to find] More here: ebay examples. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/326301595412 - perhaps a more detailed example. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/386828822403 - nice but expensive! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/405270717744 coiled wire vines. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/156433822740 an obvious fake with fake mei. Others : https://www.seiyudo.com/tu-020517.htm https://www.touken-w...rd-guard/art0002319/

The Crane's feet are clumsy

His name only mentioned as a member of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO-KEN KAI and LENDERS https://drdeanhartle...AndArmor.htm#MEMBERS Such a little mark in history we all make.

Recent Hartman collection auction.

I think it is much better that Ford came up with his own slant on the design - makes it unique and not a slavish copy. That is the true Japanese expression of utsushi after all. Lets leave the lousy copying to the Chinese - who, lets face it, are not that great at it! [Yes I know I will never make it through immigration control if I ever visited China!]

Yes looking at his pages he has these - but I believe these images were only available after Ford had made his utsushi. I wonder how the guard got from California to Stuttgart and how many other stops along the way? There are a few minute differences between the image in Hawley and the auction in Stuttgart but they may just be photo problems or as Bob M says himself there may be another guard made by the same maker. Anyone got a clue when they started making these hideous copies? [lazy at that - they mirror reverse the image both sides] I know it didn't take long for the Chinese to steal another tsuba designed by Ford.