Spartancrest

Tony, no fakes at least, the last one is badly corroded, could even be a battlefield find? The fourth is 'Hot stamped' Tembo [also called Tenbo & Tempo, depends on how you want to spell it ] as Barry has suggested.The carved landscape with gold highlights [2] reminds me of a Umetada that I have seen but it could be Shoami school it has a badly damaged 'mei' maybe someone else could try to read. Number 3 could well be Akasaka or even Owari , there is some overlap in these two schools, see the designs in the image. All of your guards could do with a good clean, nothing harsh, maybe boiled in clean water for a few minutes and a soft cotton wipe down till absolutely dry. There is a huge following of tsuba collectors on NMB and many specialist areas you can draw from.

Not close enough I think.

This Mekugi looks like the same chevron shape https://www.jauce.com/auction/u421938794

That original Chinese fake - https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/A-Japanese-signed-tsuba/1293649-japanese_signed-21.2.21-bukowski - they want somewhere near €250 ($285 USD)

Samurai stealth -

Well the black tiger was cheap [and nasty] but what the hell I bought it for 1,000 yen just to see what was under that paint. What I found is a construction technique I haven't seen before. While the core of the 'item' is Lead or alloy composed mainly of lead, the outer layer is a gold coloured thin foil. This foil is harder and of a higher melting point than the base metal so I am wondering how this would be applied without melting the base material? Does electroplating work on lead? I had the thing for five minutes before removing the ridiculous black paint. Please no sympathy notes - it was just curiosity, not ignorance of it's true nature.

As an up-date the example from Jauce - https://www.jauce.com/auction/q429219730 - took someone to the cleaners for 25,555 yen or close to $250 USD. + Fees.

Pietro, I think it is not meant to make sense, it is meant to deceive. 侏 Mijika = in English means 'Actor'

Robert if you see ten that look the same - run. The Chinese fakes are everywhere. You just don't get signatures like that on a real tsuba. This one is also up for auction - any idea of the mei? https://www.jauce.com/auction/r443391065 It looks very modern. The design is by Goto hokyo Ichijo who may have used a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada for inspiration. Goto Ichijo's original design below. The proportions are way off in the copy above. These steel reproductions are closer to the correct proportions, these were factory made in large numbers and in other various metals, all are the same rounded shape rather than the subtle mokko of the Goto original. They also lack any celestial body rising on the horizon, [There is at least one example with a silver 'moon' in place of the sun] So what do we make of the first example currently up for auction?

Geraint you are certainly right, one on it's own is a maybe - three all with the same imprints around the nakago-ana that is definitely a series of fakes, darn good fakes at that. What are the chances though that they all turn up on the same week? The small amounts of 'gilding' are not identical so they are three individual pieces, not doubling up as sometimes happens when a dealer sells on two sites at once. Is it worth telling Diamyou54eb that he is selling a fake?

WWII Armory marks.

It loses a lot in translation

So what you are saying is I should stop torturing the mailman? What do I do with him now?

There is an almost identical guard here on Jauce, https://www.jauce.com/auction/q429219730 Julien the identical placement of the tagane-ato punch marks is a very worrying sign - makes it very likely to be a copied fake. There is no doubt in my mind that both examples are copies at best - mass produced copies at worst.

Yas I would not sell my example for anything. 7,000 is a cheap price for such a long time tradition. Thank you so much for the extra information. The workers are very skilled. I don't know if the paperweights are still being made? Or what years they were produced? I see a lot of these “Compliments of NYK Line” souvenir of a cruise line circa 1920’s for the Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line. They were given away as advertising at the time - a hundred years old now. They are better made than the cast 100 yen piece.

Yas - it is a real wonder that a lot of 'no longer useful' metal objects survived those times - the world losses more than lives in all conflicts. It is a great pity that we can't seem to lose conflict. Ten more years and that paperweight will be an antique, but it already has much to tell. I have a small database of tsuba shaped paperweights, they are an interesting subject in their own right - if they are not trying to be fakes. Here is something unusual in a bad way https://www.jauce.com/auction/m475525520 Izarae (Lit. to clear/clean a cast piece) gone too far! [hardly an "Excellent Product"] Looks like it was worked on by an angle grinder! Back to paperweights I have one of these that I note turn up every now and again https://www.jauce.com/auction/371174105 Even though clearly a paperweight copy of an early Christian guard, I do enjoy having mine, as it too has a history behind it.

Well they just keep coming - another Nambu-tekki souvenir - https://www.jauce.com/auction/j712104332 I wonder what ridiculous price it will finally sell for?

I bough a 'better fake' if there is such a thing, same 'watered steel' and kanji in the wrong area, at my local market for $50 as a wall hanger - and mine says it was made in 1643 on the blade. It is alright for cutting weeds so its not entirely a waste of money. What does 'Unfurtunetly' mean anyway!

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Here is an example of having it both ways, the fuchi/kogiri fit together to form the 'split tsuba' https://www.jauce.com/auction/r461703084

Yas, any idea what this thing is? https://www.jauce.com/auction/s801847134 I don't think it could possibly be worth the $20 million US. they are asking!!!!! It must be a joke.

There is yet another take on the original design - https://www.jauce.com/auction/o454943394 The hitsu are again the main design feature - just what they represent remains vague.

Yas , I was thinking the same thing, just change the photo, and you would fool most buyers. Why would someone dump the certificate in the first place, could the attribution have been found in error? If so the certificate should have been destroyed not kept.

Earlier in this thread was a post about used storage boxes with Christies labels attached - well how about second hand Shinsa papers in bulk! https://www.jauce.com/user/vzmkp83951 This seller could supply you with a wealth of certificates for a much cheaper rate! I have said this before "what do you actually get when you buy papered pieces?" What are you paying the money for? The object or the piece of paper? Seems the paper is not worth that much really.

Hi Chris, At first glance there looked like casting marks around the rim - but on closer inspection I noticed the fukurin, nicely done at that, lighting is always a problem especially with old eyes. The crimping matches the iron rim, I bet it sets off the rest of the guard in sun light, I can't give a school but it looks some age and the skill level is excellent. Good find !