Spartancrest

Hi Alex and welcome to the ride! I would agree with Dan and Alban for the most part - mainly because you have to start somewhere you feel comfortable with. Spending big money on things you are only just learning about can get you into lots of trouble. You might liken it to choosing a dog [bit of a stretch I know]. You can go out and buy a pedigree show dog or pick up a mongrel from the street, you can get the same companionship from both, one you can 'show off' one you can play rough with. Personally I like the road trip, you might start off with 'road kill', but every once in a while you find a bag of jewels that fell off a truck from when the kids cleaned out granddad's shed! See this thread-

I found an old image from 1902 - formerly from the Tadamasa Hayashi collection - sold at auction as "Chased and openwork, Six saber guards. By Umétada.- number 112"

Oh the good old days of just last week! 11,044 yen https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1058868606 BUY IT NOW for 46,000yen - now four times the price! INFLATION INFLATION INFLATION!

Bruno, I think these are the same menuki. A lot of dealers sell on multiple sites. How they work out who wins - I have no idea! You will often see a huge markup on eBay items compared to the Japanese sites, I call it Gaijin prices.

Tsuba on tsuba, I will try and keep this one secret - [small hope!]

I have seen a number of museum pieces recently, that have been badly copied and faked - this one caught my eye today. https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1050961601 The evidence would suggest that the fakes are made straight from the image - I doubt the museum would lend the piece to be copied! [especially so badly] I have been unable to find the ura view of the original, but I would doubt the image is mirror reversed as the fake has done, maybe they couldn't find the ura view as well! The mystery to me is who buys these things?

Something you don't come across every day - Anchor menuki. https://www.jauce.com/auction/m1058509368 I would not think this was ever true inlay work to start with - I would suggest they should have used better rice or fish glue when they were attaching the features. There are a number of guards made this way - unfortunately.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a nice double Shachi Tanto guard.

You want to talk about tsuba reminding you of the past - How about the old movie "Fantastic Four" [Or perhaps it is a case of Monkey-pox?] The original tsuba is 'pox free' and in the V&A.

I think you guys are living in another universe - It is obviously a Pac-Man tsuba!

Harking back to June 7th - I have found a much closer example to the rim removed Phoenix. It is to be found in the V&A Museum. Number M.290-1931 - they can run but they can't hide!

Some more 'bells' without rims from the V&A - a curiously information lacking museum. And the earlier post - is there a hidden face on the lower right of the bell? Or do I have an over active imagination?

Glen, this looks like one recently discussed https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1053959631 This has no rim but obvious it should have. Anyone with a spare rim available? Is it an attempt to resize the guard or is it a repair? Reduction rings = change the size of the rim thickness? One of mine shows the rim was added and welded to the main body. The rim is slightly thicker than the rest of the guard - difficult to see but clear in hand.

There are numerous ways to clean verdigris from copper/yamagane - However I would be cautious as you don't want to remove the rest of the patina. There is a recipe here - I would try lemon juice alone first it is something you can dilute and readily wash off if it is too aggressive. I have used citric acid on one of my pieces with great results , but it was in such a state to start with that there was little to risk. Your piece is not so badly affected and something as simple as a cotton cloth might remove the buildup without going the 'chemical' route. The old adage "when in doubt - do nowt" This is an old Cheshire proverb, 'nowt' meaning 'nothing'.

Half the fun of collecting, is working out what is being portrayed at times - Art even conventionalized Japanese Art is still in the eye of the beholder. I suspect many designs are just as obscure to modern Japanese as they are to Westerners. What does this represent? A skull or Jason's hockey mask? For that matter, did it start out as a tsuba at all? The adventure goes on.

A bit of an up-date - this guard shown amongst the group Posted June 5 above. https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/tsuba-Japan-edo-zeit-2156-c-521443f8da Has an intact double in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Number 1930M934 It can be found in Greville Cooke's book on the Museum, page 138. With a little luck Grev might be able to show the full guard.

A 'bell' just listed - strange off-centre. https://www.jauce.com/auction/h1058081022

This is an old thread but a small guard has just turned up and I was wondering what people think? https://www.jauce.com/auction/v1057443930 The seller is not doing much to advertise his piece - virtually no information. Rectangular nakago-ana with sekigane at the bottom. Roped edge. For me it has a lot of Chinese style or even Indo-Persian - something you would normally find on a Mughal dagger?

"My guess someone lived a lonely life as a collector and then died. " Kirill that sounds familiar - . I would guess that is where the majority of pieces have come from, after all its been nearly 200 years since the samurai used them. Something for all collectors to think about- where does your collection go when we go too? [please, please don't say eBay!]

Geoffrey, I have some information on the Nanban guard for you - same dragon prow ship style. https://www.facebook.com/Asian-Export-sword-guards-and-Nanban-tsuba-564035753684007/ Also from https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/signed-nanban-style-ship-tsuba once again a similar design but with a phoenix prow. For a rough price guide you might like to check this site- https://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/tsuba-%26-kodogu/t186-wonderful-namban-tsuba-chinese-boat I hope this is helpful.

Yes welcome Geoffrey! The dreaded value question, everyone will have a different opinion. What are they worth to you? Are you a collector or do you want to be a dealer? If you are a collector you would be hard pressed to start off with pieces as good as you have. We all wish we had your luck, because most of us started with less impressive pieces and only those members who can remember Queen Victoria on the throne will have purchased so many for so little money.

Colin, not directed at you. I just got my Doctorate in Metallurgy from this thread - I should have stayed "lost in space" [and my head still hurts]

They are great quality - you didn't mention the name of the shop? You wouldn't take $20 each? - Just joking - What about $200? That is the find of the Century [well the first quarter of 21st century at least!] You don't need to go out and buy a lottery ticket - you already WON!

Beautiful pieces and an interesting theme - wow you have been busy! Just the guard to go with that anchor kashira - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/294566514997 Whoops- or this one is nice too https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1055698290 https://www.jauce.com/auction/w1056944942