Matsunoki

It’s not wreckage🙂 The subject of a boat moored (or lurking)amidst foliage or reeds is common. On better quality pieces you can often see a man in the boat, most usually a hunter or cormorant fisherman.Sometimes it will show a hunter in his boat hiding in the reeds with a flight of geese heading his way. If the man isn’t there you are being asked to imagine him…..because the maker didn’t want to put any more effort into the piece. Im guessing much of this has already been said above🙂

Probably…….

Absolutely not! It’s complicated globally and I can only comment on the UK. Until the latest stupid UK ban, all antique ivory netsuke and okimono were exempt from CITIES regulations due to their age. They could be bought and sold with no paperwork necessary. Perfect and sensible. No elephants were being killed by poachers to supply the antique market. Then along comes the UK blanket ban and it completely overrides and ignores the sensible old CITIES regulations in that ANYTHING made from ivory or predominantly from ivory IRRESPECTIVE OF AGE can no longer be bought, sold, imported or exported. They can be owned but the result has been to kill the market overnight. There are some minor exemptions which require submissions and paperwork but none will apply to netsuke or okimono or shibayama etc. or wonderful French and German carvings be they medieval or whatever. Regulations in Europe and the rest of the world are different and generally a bit more relaxed…..but I don’t know the detail. This legislation is an example of politicians doing “something” about elephants being slaughtered. The trouble is they have achieved nothing except to cost law abiding citizens a huge amount of money and deny law abiding citizens from taking part in a historically important preservationist “hobby”. Elephants continue to be slaughtered by poachers often with cooperation from the local “officials” who all stand to gain a lot by supplying the predominantly Chinese market where it is used to make “tat”. Sorry….I was ranting again😡

Some nice things….,. https://www.kunstauktionen-duesseldorf.auction/148-asiatika-antiken-schmuck-uhren--search-1-block-41-browse.html

The position of the round hole is so close to the nakago ana that anything that passed all the way through it from the tsuka to the saya would would most likely emerge straight into the habaki thus maybe suggesting it is nothing to do with a locking or securing device? It also looks maybe later machined or drilled with that raised lip??? Could it be something for securing/stabilising the tsuba to the tsuka, maybe a peg to prevent rattling. Maybe a peg on the fuchi for something? Dont know, just trying to visualise the practical possibilities.

It’s not mine Piers. It’s an example of what I once had. 18thC Tomotada….one of the greatest Kyoto masters. When I sold the collection I deleted all photos. I was very very angry and upset. I sold the library as well which was pretty dumb! Lots of rare books and catalogues of old collection auctions. Yes I could have kept them (the netsuke) and watch them become valueless and unsaleable but that would have been ££crazy.

Hi Piers, I’ve copied it into the new thread. I’d replied here before I saw the new topic. My collection was centered around tigers, monkeys, wolves/wild dogs, rats and similar. They gave me such pleasure. Am seriously considering re-entering the fray but obviously not Ivory examples. I love the Ise Yamada school works in assorted woods (masanao et al) …..monkeys, tigers, rats etc (what a surprise!)…..but since the Ivory ban their prices are skyrocketing. Some lovely netsuke coming up in a couple of European auctions but then we must run the gauntlet of importing things without them getting “mislaid” etc Nothing is easy anymore!

Netsuke for me is a very bitter sweet subject. Over many years I’d built a half decent collection and had a massive library on the subject. But the along comes our woke vote grabbing government with its unjustified and ill considered ban on ivory thus was I really forced to sell the lot before their value evaporated to zero in this country. Of all the things I’ve been interested in Netsuke were (are?) probably my favourite…..even more than the guns and swords and tsuba! I really miss them more than anything else. Bloody Michael Gove…..what a weasel…..now he’s a Baron and a Lord 🤬🤬 Sorry for rant….netsuke always hit this painful nerve. Wonderful things like this …….banned from selling, importing etc

Netsuke for me is a very bitter sweet subject. Over many years I’d built a half decent collection and had a massive library on the subject. But the along comes our woke vote grabbing government with its unjustified and ill considered ban on ivory thus was I really forced to sell the lot before their value evaporated to zero in this country. Of all the things I’ve been interested in Netsuke were (are?) probably my favourite…..even more than the guns and swords and tsuba! I really miss them more than anything else. Bloody Michael Gove…..what a weasel…..now he’s a Baron and a Lord 🤬🤬 Sorry for rant….netsuke always hit this painful nerve. Wonderful things like this …….banned from selling, importing etc

Yes. Can’t see any problem with that Piers.

🙂😉🫢

Shakudo is an alloy which before patination looks like copper in colour. It is not a solid block of black metal. When patinated it will form an oxide on the surface that basically looks black. If the patina is then worn, scratched or in any other way damaged the base colour of “copper” will show through including within the nakago-ana or on highlight areas etc Copper on the other hand does not patinated to black, in fact it is the most difficult metal to get a good solid patina on and any patina on copper is easily abraded. This tsuba simply looks to have nice quality copper sekigane perfectly and carefully fitted into a tsuba with a plate made of a shakudo type alloy. The actual tsuba itself is of modest quality. Personally I can’t see any mystery here.

Roy, you have taken the metal mekugi out from both sides? One side is a tube, the other the screw that goes into it. Both need to come out. Sorry if that sounds insultingly obvious!

How many do you want and do you come to the Birmingham Arms Fair?

Not in my opinion. Blade obviously has had a hard life probably with many polishes. The last polish does not look great from these images.

I think Marcin is trying to explain undercutting and sukashi work? ie it’s not a “solid block” It isn’t unusual to see that on menuki.

Is there a boshi? In image of kissaki it looks like hamon could run off the blade and maybe that has been concealed by strange “polish” on kissaki? Of course could just be a trick of the image. personally I’ve never seen a nakago re-worked in that manner unless it was done to fit into a Kyugunto and then re-done again to fit this koshirae.

Crab and either seaweed or coral fronds is perhaps more likely than pine trees?

Can you image that? ……because these two features (possibly the central nerve with cracks coming from it) suggest it may indeed be Ivory but of very low quality. I”m even wondering if it is an older piece that has been heavily “enhanced” and mercilessly re-polished.

That habaki is confusing….it looks maybe as if it has been painted gold or perhaps been given a thin plated gilt wash. It isn’t gold though sadly. The fuchi and kashira do not match (I’m sure you know they are made in matching pairs) which is a shame. The “gold section with scalloping” on the kashira are small gilt tubular eyelets that prevent the ito from being damaged by the edges of the kashira. Overall, the mismatched mountings are of very modest quality and possibly assembled in more recent times. I would not remove the Ito to check the menuki, it’s a million to one shot that they are gold. Apologies for the somewhat downbeat opinions but best to be realistic.

Gold habaki and menuki are pretty rare and generally found only on very high quality items. Can we see better pics of habaki? It looks to have some wear on it as if it is plated, or sometimes they are a thick gold foil over a base metal. Can you see if there is foil folded over?…it usually shows at the nakago end of the habaki. Is the tsuka ito fairly recently done? Looks very fresh. Could suggest the menuki are modern and plated. In the images the fuchi looks iron, not silver…..does the kashira match it? Can you show the whole sword please?

Ie……

Hmmmm……can’t explain those small areas that look like brass spots scattered around randomly on the fittings. I’ve seen that before when weak areas in pressings have been reinforced from behind so still can’t tell if pressed or cast. Could be that an alloy was not fully “mixed” so blobs of one component appear in any casting.

I wish you good luck. Most UK carriers will not touch blades/swords. You will have problems with customs who seem to delight in making it very difficult proving the age etc and showing them Japanese papers which they can’t understand might not work. They will most likely apply 20% tax without a second thought and then sit and wait for you to prove otherwise. I have heard of some swords being returned to the overseas sender and I’ve also had that happen to me. I’ve had a sword opened and damaged. In the UK everything is being done to make shipping swords as difficult and unpredictable as possible. There are several posts on this forum discussing this…..have a search around. Speaking personally, I wouldn’t even dream of trying it now.

Watches are just mass produced things that some people will pay a lot for, no comparison to this blade.