Steves87

Hello, I have this Nanban Tsuba, which is your regular two dragon design (that seems to be cast in mass production) except I feel this one has been engraved, the eyes have definitely been dot inlayed and there seems to be an 'over' engravement on one of the ear tips. What I am wondering though, was there ever a time when a 'base' Tsuba shape was cast and then the finer details engraved in? I can see the ears from one side of the Tsuba to the other are similar - left to left and right to right in shape which is my main reason for thinking this is cast and then the inlay eyes and finer engravings done after. Other than this i cannot say that I see any other obvious telltale signs of casting, no veins, missmatched joins or dimples and compared to all other Nanban Tsuba of the same design, this is by far the most defined I have seen. I would really like to know if this was a done practice and if yes, is this one of those Tsuba? Thank you for your time

I apologise in advance for adding my 2 cents as I am very much a beginner, but it very much looks like the corrosion pits have been converted with tannic acid or something similar, usually such and acid will clean soft metals of patina and dirt leaving them quite contrasting, but if an iron corrosion has covered a softmetal and the covering is thick enough, the iron rust can be converted on top of the soft metal giving a 'buried' appearance. Not saying any of this is happening here, but ive seen it many times before and this reminds me very much of the cases ive seen

Thank you Bruno, the hammer price suprises me somewhat, I would have guessed about half the amount, but, I also have no real clue about these matters Thankyou

Id love to see the results of the whole auction.

Also, I am wondering about the Shishi Tsuba, should the Shishi dog be black (shakudo?) with gold dots, or should it have been gold plated, like the flowers are (hard to see from photos) Thank you Edit- sorry just saw your reply

Thank you David and Chris for your time estimates, that is pretty much exactly what I was after. I apologise for the photo quality, I’m currently in the process of experimenting with photos and lighting, hopefully I can get a good ‘go to’ lighting setting. David, I will most definitely have a good look through the link provided. I’m on a steep learning curve at the moment and I’m trying to take on everything I can. Chris, I am curious about the meaning of ‘rubbed’? Is it litterally that the Tsuba has been rubbed, say, to get rid of rust or create a patina of sorts? Thank you once again

Hello, I have had these Tsuba for a short time and I have been searching through my limited resources for an estimate of time period (and maybe a potential maker as a side peice of info), Im guessing they are somewhat 'recently' made, but cant be sure and I cannot say ive seen similar examples of either. They may not be considered desirable and the condition of them are not all there, but I like them as is. I hope someone can please give some insight. This is my first official thread, so I apologise in advance if I have not followed a correct procedure. Thank you, Stephen

I also found this: Stephen

Thanks for the welcome Ken, I train in Iaido at the WAKR in Perth and i also do a Kenjutsu class as a sub group too. Iaido is great, but I have to say i prefer the all encompassing Kenjutsu. The cutting and sparring is fun and really puts a lot of the art into a reality setting.

Hello! My name is Stephen, I practice sword arts, amateur sword parts construction and I love collecting Tsuba. Initially my collection was based from a physical practicing art point of view so I didn't care too much for schools or craftsmen, recently though, I have felt I should be learning about the history and lineages so I thought Id start by joining here. I appreciate and like the near perfect condtion Tsuba very much, but, I honestly prefer and am drawn to the Tsuba with wear and (slight) rust/damage. thank you for your time Stephen

Florian yes! Fallen out! apologies, this is what I was trying to get across, Ive been collecting and making for quite a while now but im still learning the correct terminology. C0D, Tomorrow i am searching for the near identical one i saw as Im sure there was a description included with it

I was able to track the book(s) through a mate, not what I remember so I think I have seen it elsewhere as im sure it was near identicle to my example, but anyhow, the closest Tsuba style in the book by G D Murtha was this: Apologies for not remembering correctly

im already looking! ive known of inlays having a scalloped soffit, and when lightly hammered in, the inlay scallop is made flat and pushes the perimeter into what should be a dovetail carving. the above doesn't suggest there was a dovetail though

Interesting! it had crossed my mind initially that maybe there was never inlay in the area, as you say, it is quite flat. The front side of the Tsuba has been quite corroded , especially on that right hand side, so I figured that maybe some of the corrosion has taken away not only the inlay, but also the carving definition? some inlay on the front lower right is loose which I am almost sure is due to the old corrosion too. I feel like I have seen this design in a book from Gary D Murtha in the past, long before I received this Tsuba. I might have to find a copy of them and have another look!

Hello, this is my first post to this message board! I found it quite funny that the first thread I click on hapens to be of a Tsuba style I currently own. it is missing some obvious inlay, but otherwise ok. Im sorry I do not know anything about this Tsuba style but below is my example: