Curran

I too wish I knew. I find auctions impossible to gauge. I've seen auctions of ma-ma stuff go for multiples of current fair value. Other auctions where excellent stuff went for very little. In particular was a Tokubetsu Juyo student of Masamune sword in pristine polish and condition that went for $50-$60K. I'm hoping this auction goes well, as the Bonhams people have done a good job for the most part. Given that I work in finance, I get doused in buckets of the economist and trader's international gloom-n-doom. You'd think it was global extinction around the corner. It remains pretty thick at present, so I don't know if international buyers will show up unless seeking hard assets to protect against governments turning on the printing presses to pay their old debts.

You are correct about the little kaeri.

At Bonhams was a nice sword with NTHK papers. Decent sayagaki. Straight as a kendo shinai. with nice jigane, and a cutting test..... but something very unusual about it. See image and zoom in on the end of the nakago: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20503/lot/1172/ Keep zooming until you can see it well. The last few inches of the nakago are a hollow secondary nakago somehow cut and screw-bolted (yes, looks like a screw) onto some sort of flange from the original nakago. It is relatively stable and the NTHK papers show it this way. As I said, the extention is hollow, like a small iron saya handle. _________________________________________________________ Blade was very nice except for this. I'd never seen something like it before and thought it rather Frankenstein. Must have made for a very long tsuka. Any of our sword swingers able to explain why this was done (just to make it uber long??). Patina doesn't match the excellent patina on the original nakago. Yet cutting it off would require repatination of the end of the original nakago, and I assume it would need be re-submitted for NTHK papers. Or would the NTHK honor the previous papers and simply charge a fee to re-issue papers with the restored nakago?

I remember this from ebay. Didn't think the hada that far off from Oei Bizen that I have seen. Did not look too long, once I decided the signature was not correct. There is a papered one on Nihonto.com that you can use for comparison. The one on Nihonto.com has also seen a lot of polishes, so the kissaki geometry has something to tell you.

Best people to ask are in England or Japan. I'll point one of them at it, but he may be slow to respond. I'm confident with 3rd, 4th, 5th gen and some of the students.... but don't feel knowledgeable enough to comment with conviction on earlier pieces. Please post a photo of the other side, if you have one.

I looked at that helmet since it was right by the entrance. Didn't read the catalog entry on it. Yes, I would call it a Tengu too. Jean, I'm keeping my mouth shut for now. I am sure it will sell, but I've left my contact information with them on it. Should it *not* sell, I may try and negotiate through Bonhams. If that were to happen, I'd be fire selling a few things. I admit I did think of you and your 5 from the major Koto groups. I know you already have a fine example from this group, or I would have been telling you to buy it. PM me if you really want to know.

I spent a second day going over the items for the Bonham's auction. The condition and care of the items is better than my prior experience with other auction houses. Notes: (1) Auction catalog descriptions were excellent. This is something upon which I would fault Christies and praise Bonhams. Some of the website descriptions have minor notes where the book missed something, such as signatures on menuki. In the instance of at least one koshirae, a buyer may get a pleasant surprise if they ever notice the signature on the menuki just barely visible under the wrap. (2) Some of the swords are nicer than I anticipated. I fell in love with one of the Juyo, but probably going to need just admire it from afar. I would have initially thought it overpriced, but it is such an excellent example in master polish. There are more than a few nice blades in what is mostly one owner's liquidaiton. Someone had some taste. Only a few swords showed the neglect we often see on swords come to auction. (3) Specifics... ask someone else if the Muramasa is a real one or not. It is a fine sword. I'll be surprised if that one doesn't go for a bit more. Fine habaki on it. (4) Fittings should be interesting. Lots of late Edo kinko, some of it very over the top. Not what I collect, but it doesn't seem on the market very much. One auction such stuff seems to go for a lot, and the next time not so much. There is one I would like for myself, but I think the reserve a bit high. One of the menuki sets was excellent, but I didn't have time to try and validate the signature. Some very unique pieces in the mix. I saw a carved tsuka the likes of which I'd never seen before. Thought it was leather right up until holding it in the cotton gloves. I may attend the auction in vivo at least through the fittings part. Even if the poor current world economy shivs this auction, the Bonhams people did a fine job with finding, care, and description of the items.

Yoshihara-san has been making these for decades. The early ones could be had for a few hundred USD. As his fame grew, so have the prices. In studying 5 or 6 of them, the workmanship definitely improves with the years. He sticks to his iron and usually sukashi. There is something "right brain" vs "left brain" about them that they feel like gendaito more than tsuba. I don't know how else to explain this. This is one of those instances where I think a non Japanese (Ford) has a better aesthetic for classical Japanese kodogu than the Japanese. As if this years competition didn't put a spotlight on that..... Don't get me wrong, - Yoshihara-san's recent ones are art undo themselves, but they feel like swords trying to be tsuba. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sort of like a very advanced classical portrait painter also sculpting a bit. The processes that work in setting up a skillful painting can cause a few lost-in-translation to a 3-D work if the artist is too set upon using the painting stage settings to make his sculpture rather than empty his mind a bit and build a different sculptor persona and perspective.

Went to Bonham's today. Very nice staff, so I regret some of my prior gunslinging comments. I've dealt with Christies directly and more often indirectly. This was my first time at Bonhams in New York, though I've had a UK friend look in on some of their tsuba for sale at previous London auctions. The photography is decent, but quite a few items were better in person. There is certainly one tsuba I want to see if I can take home. There were several koshirae that were in better condition than I expected. I did not budget enough time before an evening appointment, so may return to Bonhams tomorrow or Sunday to study a few more. The Muramasa was much more enjoyable than I anticipated. Even if it isn't a Muramasa, it is a very well made blade. I expected to be underwhelmed, but instead found myself wishing I could take it home and study it more. Has a nice 2 piece Paulownia-mon habaki on it. --- I asked one of the NYC club members which was his favorite that he'd studied at Bonhams. It was from a school I would not have requested to see. I just didn't think it would have been something I'd like. I must say that he was right... I had thought the estimate on it a bit ambitious, but think I need to eat my words on that one. Wow, what a classical beauty! ___________________ (Ps, I still haven't seen Joe Earle. I begin to think he is a mythical creature, or maybe Keyser Soze?)

Don't click on Jacques' link. Nasty little Trojan rang bells on both anti-virals and jammed up the web browser. Otherwise, please carry on.

Lovely. Take good care of it or trade it to me someday. Tom isn't the only one fond of Toppei koshirae. If you accidentally cleaned it, the shibuichi will darken over time to a nice grey black with its own lustre to it. Careful of fingerprints or other contaminants that cause it to patina unevenly.

Jean: I have the opposite experience- NBTHK papered items failing NTHK shinsa. This is not to say rather that the NBTHK is wrong, but that the Yoshikawa NTHK is a little weak knee at papering bigger name items when it is an ex-Japan shinsa. As for NBTHK old papers, sure I understand the loss of faith in old papers for swords. I disagree with Peter about fittings. Easiest picking is popping out Wakayama and giving yeah/nee to signatures on items with green papers (Tokubetsu Kicho). So many people are brainwashed into thinking green = bad, that it is easy to pick these items up at a discount. Everyone thinks "why don't they have modern papers" and doubts themselves. Thus green papered ones are sometimes cheaper than non papered. A sale of an _excellent_ old tsuba collection came up a few years ago. All the pieces had old NBTHK green papers. It was a field day while others scratched their head and 'dunno'ed the old green papers. Eventually some of the big name Japanese collectors got in on it, but the first round or two was a collector's dream. The few pieces I pulled out of that sale all went on to paper *better* than their prior green papers. As someone stated, the NBTHK's knowledge level has increased. At the very least, items once papered "Higo" often come back "Hayashi", "Jingo" and "Nishigaki". Kinko pieces often do better than their old vague attributions. With some study, a fair number of times "school attributed" pieces can be spotted that come back with specific attributions on new NBTHK papers. Fittings with green papers = good place to look for bargains.

Anyone ever met Joe Earle?

Paul, Yes. Welcome to bring your swords. Just practice good etiquette. I live in Sarasota part of the year, and there are a few of us within an hour or two of Tampa. Feel free to get in touch with me a month or two before the show.

I will go see the preview on Oct 12th or 13th. Should be interesting. Yes, many of the estimates seem ambitious while some seem very low. I would like to think that estimates are well thought out. They are not, though Bonhams seems to put considerably more effort into it than Christies. Japanese sales bringing in a million or two are hardly worth the requisite salary of having someone remotely knowledgeable on staff. Why bother when you can sell $500 million of various Euro brick-a-brack to a Hong Kong art market?

As DocLiss said, or: http://www.finesword.co.jp/sale/book/11 ... m#kanesada (scroll down a bit)

Yes, your kozuka reads Nobukatsu. Post your photos. If a slow day, I'll break out the signature references and take a look.

(Kifudo ??? or Kitsufudo ???) and then artist name: Nobukatsu.

Hmmm. PM me photos of the koshirae if you feel you have the time. I enjoy yoroi doshi koshirae. But many of them w/ koshirae are shinshinto. Sounds like yours might be a bit different.

The hell you say, about the Hizoko that is.... Totally off the original topic, but either tease us with a photo or PM/email one privately. Please!

As I hope I made clear, I was trying to find the credible part in the story. What Mike says makes more sense in fitting with the Japenglish version swapped with me. Sounds like it isn't nearly as current as I was told. Old news finally reaching my far end of the grapevine. Endnote: Mike.... awesome Hirata f/k that you sold to a club member. It was great to see that Sunday. The kashira was *much* more educational to study under magnification in person rather than just look at in a book.

Sei ichi died c.1875-1900 Haynes 08050.0 Student of Goto Seii H08047 Seii was a student of Goto Seijo school. Nice little tanto tsuba probably made for one of those yoroi doshi which were in vogue c. 1855 to 1870.

And Lehman was just one company.... ______________________________________ Just was curious. I doubt the fact is remotely as large as that implied. The source was unusual and much more credible than those usually dickering over NBTHK and NTHK issues.

At Sunday's New York Metro Token Club meeting, the Japanese sensei talked to me about having just heard from several friends that a group of Tokyo sword dealers were caught colluding and faking papers/signatures. The gist was that the police were after the gentlemen, at least 5 were now bankrupt, and to expect many sword values to take a hit soon as a few store full of sword come onto the market unless the remaining dealers buy them up like DeBeers. The Japanese gent responsible for this is a good teacher and long time member, but has sometimes delivered some shock-jock whoppers where reality is a supposed mountain out-of-a-molehill of truth. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Anyone else heard or read anything and care to comment? Any current Nihonto Dealer scandal of merit in Tokyo? The half joke was that mumei Juyo Inchimonji were going to suddenly be even more plentiful. BS, or a grain of truth here? If so, it might make for an interesting Dai Token Ichi.

I read it as SadaNori too, but see Morita-san has already beaten me to it. Glad to know the second character is 'Nori'. Wasn't 100% sure.