Spartancrest

I was just going through my book covers - not all are included. The things you can waste your time on in retirement!

Hi Marcos, I just sent off an order for another member of NMB, for all three books. I can get them at cost price [which is less than half the price Amazon or others are selling them for.] Depending on shipping address which varies a lot. Combined shipping makes it cheaper as I just found - so much so I could send another book title to the NMB member. Just send me a PM and your postal address and I can find out the cost, also the company that prints them often has "discount" periods where they give up to 20% off or better yet free shipping so timing the purchase can save even more money. It is even possible to get the new book before it gets listed so that might upset the proxy sellers All three books make up 936 pages. Regards All I forgot to say all books are available either soft or hardcover, in general the hardcovers are $10 extra [I don't know why a little extra cardboard costs so much but that is what they charge?]

Looks like Catawiki has sold their copy - But I guess if they can steal my images - then I can steal theirs! They were bid what it retails for anyway https://www.abebooks...-1923-1518472990/plp I can get it delivered to anywhere in the US for about $16 USD!!! I don't like proxy dealers

No not me - but I like his hat!

Geez Ron you are quick off the mark!

I just sent off a "new" book to the global distributors - Titled "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study II" It follows on "Early Articles for Tsuba Study 1880-1923 Enlarged Edition" & "Additional Early Articles for Tsuba Study" with more articles and catalogues/catalogs, this time mainly dealing with auction catalogues of some of the well known collections and many of the more obscure ones. I concentrated only on auctions with images available, nothing more frustrating than to have to imagine what the tsuba looked like in my opinion. The book is 322 pages with several hundred tsuba illustrated. With any luck the book should be listed within a month. The first book in the series [compact version] I just found listed on Catawiki, it is almost the same as the Enlarged Edition so you can check out the images https://www.catawiki...-period-1989-present [I don't recall giving anyone permission to show the pages, but that obviously doesn't stop Catawiki !! ]

https://tosogu.cz/?p=1485

Just found this in an old catalogue Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer, donated over 150 tsuba to the Metropolitan Museum, some of their best. The estate of Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer. Japanese & Chinese art [Part III] Publication date 1930 The description is a little off! 28. Bronze tsuba, Large oval form for great sword, embossed and parcel-gilded with figure of an old magician evoking a dragon from a smoking koro; reverse engraved with a pine branch. Signed SHUNMEI.

Spot on that is correct. Check out - I took the liberty of revolving the kozuka and enlarging it a little. Notice the headpiece on this tsuba. https://www.zacke.at...ters/?lot=38593&sd=1 Three Sake Tasters—Shaka (The historical Buddha), Koshi (Confucius), and Roshi (Laozi) May as well include a Kashira https://www.liveauct...a-confucius-lao-tze/

I can't translate the caption on this tsuba taken from Zabo Tansen by Kenichi Kokubo & Kenzo Ootsubo The dragon is once again 'lowline' and for me at least looks a lot like a very thin lizard! There is another tsuba on page 223 of the same book very similar to the one posted by Colin H. above.

A nice katamenuki - Cicada nymph https://www.jauce.com/auction/f1141663851

Just a wild thought here - could the tsubako be covering BOTH bases? It would double his clientele and if we can't tell the difference, would the tsuba buyer have been able?

I agree with Jean, a legit piece - but as otherwise stated the tagane marks were not done by a specialist and may be much more recent - it is lucky more damage was not done. [cover with a seppa no worries!] Rakan Handaka with Dragon https://www.lempertz...te-19th-century.html The dragon has gone lowline in this remarkable piece

https://www.nihontoc.../Ko_Goto_Kozuka.html And a blast from the past Helen Gunsaulus "Japanese sword-mounts in the collection of Field Museum" 1923

Hawkshaw image [not very clear]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1141417672 Solid Gold! and no doubt worth every cent.

Hi Ian, you might need to show us an image of the Kozuka so we know which one to look for, or can you give us the Hawkshaw catalogue number?

Two from a Swedish Museum site. Formerly from Didrik Bildt Collection around 1914. The maru one Signed: Yoshisumi. The other Signed: Miöchin [Myōchin] Kino Munesuke. The one on the right From a different Swedish museum. : Gift of the Friends of the National Museum to NM [Nationalmusei Vänner]1912, The item comes from Oscar Björck's private collection. Wrongly described as a Wasp. Some menuki at a sale https://www.jauce.com/auction/p1125992196

Something I could have made use of - tsuba wall hooks. Image from an old Yahoo auction. [one I missed]

Spartan [not so sensei] still has much to learn as well. That is half the fun, imagine if we knew it all? What would we talk about?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235005954807 Like Jake has said - Chinese modern, If you paid the $55 ebay is asking you can buy real Edo [low end] for a little more money - [I suggest not through ebay though.] https://www.darkknig...ental-dragon-katana/ this shows the dragon tsuba made to fit replica swords. My advice if you see the box lid with RYUMON written on it - avoid!! What they don't show you in detail of the ura side! The company also doesn't mind stealing designs from Paul Chen Hanwei - modern copying modern. https://in.pinterest.../532621093405093939/ The Fuji-san one https://sbg-sword-st....com/product470.html Not very nice close up!

I think your tsuba has elements of some Saotome style with Tosa Myochin, do you mean the general shape? I would put it down as Kawari-gata, irregular shape. I have a very large guard with the same rough dented look which I can't exactly fit to any specific school but I think is Myochin.

Could the five dot mon pattern be the Maeda Kamon? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeda_clan

I hope Monsieur Louis Gonse doesn't mind me giving a little correction to the description in a 1924 catalogue. Octopus ? ? 34. Tsuba in iron, oval, roughly hammered and chiseled. Very powerful stylization of an octopus [Awabi, Abalone]. Work by Nobuiye of Echizen. 17th-18th century.