Matsunoki

Images designed to make it look dramatic without really showing anything (as Uwe says above). That alone makes me very suspicious. Also the black finish on the shikoro does not look like old lacquer. Also the “gold” plates on the shikoro are heavily worn but the lacing looks brand new. Also the missing rivets holding shikoro to hachi suggest it does not fit correctly…..possibly a marriage? I am also a novice collector of armour and my opinion is worth little but I try to look closely at images to spot things that make me nervous. To my uneducated eye this looks highly dubious. Parts may well be old but………

Could you also show images of the kissaki/boshi please?

One of my favourite subjects in Japanese Art is the depiction of hawks, falcons and other birds of prey. I recently acquired this pair of large scrolls (from Japan). They appear to carry the seal of Kano Naonobu (1519-1592ish). They are said to be two paintings from a now lost Kano hawk byobu screen that were remounted as scrolls in 1914. Do we have any Kano knowledge on our Forum? Does that provenance seem possible? Certainly the paintings are older than the scroll mountings and they look “right” to me but really, I bought them because I absolutely love them. Any opinions anyone? Many thanks.

Blimey, that image brought back long buried memories. We had these on the farm where I was born. As a kid I used them to cut hazel spears and arrows in the wood. I think their intended function was to trim sugar beet and mangolds when harvesting was largely by hand. Gentler days.

I guess it is like any niche subject…..only a comparatively few people will be interested and even fewer will take the time to study the artistry, skill and mythology. Collecting stamps and coins is far easier! However the financial values of fine Japanese metalwork including sword fittings has increased massively in the last 10 - 15 years so I guess some heavy hitters are taking some notice worldwide. I’m not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.

You are not alone there! I’m sure others will chime in but basically it is wise to pay no serious attention to 90% of museum descriptions. They do not have the expertise and often get it very badly wrong. Try this link….. https://www.bonhams.com/search/?chronology=past&query=Tsuba Bonhams are far better than museums and you change the search criteria to fuchi or kozuka etc or even specific artists. Remember to click on the” past lots” filter.

Nor me, too damned hard! Looks like a perfect job to me Piers. Patience pays🙂

Liang, no I don’t think it is nunome zogan. Nunome zogan is not usually used on a copper base because the adhesion would be poor and also the subsequent carving of the “fur” would tear the delicate foil. It is almost certainly true Hirazogan done in either silver or more likely pale shibuichi. ……(although you have the piece in your hands and I do not!) Also had you noticed the teeth appear inlaid, probably in silver and quite possibly the eyes also. Is that the case? All point to very high quality work.

Well, I think it is head and shoulders above the other one. The technical quality of the inlay is excellent and the treatment of the laughing face likewise. The composition works well on the narrow kozuka….and the subtle inlay on his lower robe is easily missed. Not sure if it is meant to depict deerskin? High quality well made kozuka. I’d happily own it and personally would not worry about the mei. Quality is quality. re Shinsa for fittings….I rather lost faith when they papered a Nagoya mono!

I agree totally with Curran…..some superb works have “questionable mei” but I often wonder…..are they really gimei? How can we be certain? Which ones are genuine and which not? Mei would doubtless vary as artists grew older, maybe even they even changed them deliberately …..we don’t really know. Records are a bit sparse. We do know many of these artists had teachers and pupils, perhaps even akin to many swordsmiths workshops. Iwamoto Konkan is a prime example where many wonderful works are catalogued as “after Konkan” or “school of Konkan” yet someone with immense talent made them. Who?….and why gimei something superb in its own right. Was it done with the blessing of the “master”, was it made by the master and signed by the student (as per some swords). We jump to the conclusion that it was done to deceive ie for £ but I remain hesitant to judge. Of course many pieces fall well short on technical quality or artistry and certainly we can be confident that they are indeed “wrong uns” but sometimes I wonder…… Just some wandering rambling musings🙂

Fox trap?…..vague memory I’ve seen something like this on a tsuba where a farmer was trying to catch a fox.

Looks like something a fisherman would make and use. I don't think it’s weapon.

Thanks….yes found it on Dale’s link to Jauce👍. (Never been on that site before!) they do not mention the alloy/metal that it is made from and the first thing that struck me was that the faceplate looked like it had been overcleaned at some point. It is a totally different colour to the back (that in itself may not be problem as many kozuka are made from different alloy plates) but imo it is shibuichi judging from the backplate colour. Also the copper colour in the design looks weak…..but that could be a trick of the light. It is an amusing composition but not technically challenging. i don’t think it’s a modern fake I will leave the Mei to those that have far greater expertise than me. maybe ask seller what it is made from? his Haynes entry…..

Can you show a couple of high res images? (we cannot access yahoo auctions in uk)

If only the whole world could display similar “appreciations” to those expressed in this beautiful video. Thanks Jean.

It is worth bearing in mind that during Meiji (and into Taisho and even Showa) the demand for Japanese ivory carvings was massively fuelled by the export market. In response very high numbers of poorer quality pieces were produced quickly by workshops whose skills were nowhere near those of the carvers of preMeiji domestic pieces. The artistry is often very wooden and the detail and subtlety largely absent. However the demand was there and the customer base often lacked any real knowledge regarding “quality” and thus items such as Kirill shows us arrived in vast numbers. It is easy to jump to “modern Chinese” but imo many are Japanese…just mass produced quickly by unskilled artists. Without doubt (imo) many of the pieces on this thread could be argued both ways. Some are obviously modern, others…hmmmm. Sadly no treasures though.

Dani, your images are upside down. Get em the right way up and I’m sure you’ll get some comments.🙂

This gives some interesting info……. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitte

@Exclus1ve Victor How on Earth did you find that?…..or did you know who he is?

Middle hall, rear wall. Table 81. See you there!

The flat head shape (possibly suggesting a depression containing water) made me think of a Kappa, but the face, hands and feet are not typical. Maybe the Kappa king??? Dunno. One for @Bugyotsuji perhaps.

Anthony, OK…..your kozuka is a “shiremono” which is the term used (in the context of Kozuka) to describe a mass produced cheaply made item designed to look like far a more expensive mixed metal inlaid piece. Basically the whole top plate is pressed from a thin piece of copper alloy to create the high relief effect and then multi-patinated and gold plated (as opposed to true mixed metal inlay) to look like shakudo, silver etc. This is then joined to a solid base plate and finished to look like a normal kozuka. Often a thicker than normal base plate is used to create the impression of “weight in the hand”. Some even get signed but that is usually an attempt to mislead. The one you have is a well known variant and I even saw one at last weeks Arms Fair. Sometimes two pressed plates with the same subject matter are joined together and used as cutlery handles and put into sets for export to the west. However sometimes real kozuka, often of considerable quality and value got used in cutlery sets and they are can be very exciting. It is important to be able to tell the difference because….about 30 years ago at a big antiques fair I came across a set of 24 cased knives and forks with silver blades ….all were superb quality genuine kozuka. I asked “how much” he shouted to his partner “how much do you want for those Chinese knives and forks” …the answer was £65. The antique gods smiled on me that day. If you decide to stick with this interest being able to discern quality is vital…..the same applies to tsuba and all other fittings. I apologise if I disappoint you, but these things fool a great many people. Happy hunting. PS….why not come to the Birmingham Arms Fair in June, happy to show you some better pieces (you don’t have to buy anything!!🙂)

On balance I think I’d still take a gamble. Can’t be sure from photos.. Been interesting hearing your views Jeff. Now, back to this nice Shiraz🙂 Keep well.

…and so could I🙂 That Chinese horimono is a bit unnerving. Can you get a higher definition of that dragon….id like to compare the detail. There is something about the dragons heads on this sword that possibly do not look quite right…..or perhaps it’s my old eyes. We know the Chinese can make some frighteningly convincing blades…..have they figured horimono out as well. Again I’d love to know how it’s done.

Interesting thank you. Do you know how these are made…..hand engraved or mechanical or….whatever?