Jesta

This was my first thought too. Seems like a common theme. The things behind it could be stylised stirrups.

I acquired this tsuba about six months ago. My father left me some money last year, and I wanted to convert some of it into a physical object that I could see and touch in his memory. He was knowledgeable about, and loved antiques, so that, combined with my love of tsuba, and mild obsession with Japanese wave patterns meant that this one was a natural fit. It now sits in pride of place as the centrepiece of my collection. The carving is incredibly detailed, with crests carved in deep relief so that they separate from the ground in places, and picked out with gold droplets. It is signed on the reverse, and came with NBTHK paper. Sharing it because I love it, and happy to have any comments, or more information that might be relevant on the maker. I remain indebted to the members of this forum for my research. My current understanding is that Takase Yoshitoshi was active in the late 18th, early 19th centuries working for the Mito school in the Hitachi province. His work is discussed here:

Thanks for sharing these. Some lovely pieces.

In defence of the V&A, it was not set up to house only original pieces. They have quite a few copies in their collection, largely because the idea was to show off arts from other cultures to inspire British industry. It doesn’t make it easier for the collector to learn what original versus copy looks like, but it is also not that surprising.

Fair point, and well-made… Some do look a lot more gouged than others, and these look like they were cast like that.

Very nice, I love the simplicity of the design.

I can’t see much wrong with the first one, at least from the photo. The other three though… they all look too “soft”. The patina looks wrong, and the edges are too rounded. Where the seppadai has been chipped away to make room should be sharper and cut, not smooth and rounded. The sekigane looks off too. I would avoid the seller.

Hi Joe I think that you will need to post better, and more photos. Can I suggest taking them out of the box, doing closeups of the front and back with particular reference to the decorative parts? You should make sure that they are as sharp and clear as possible.

This mess is up for auction with an estimate of $1500- $3000. It already has three bids. You can see the whole listing here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/231078630_sword-fittings-tsuba-sword-guard-inscribed-with-made-by-omi-kami-goyo-with-a-copper-base-osaka-osaka

What are your thoughts on this one: https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1227971547 It feels off to me. The sekigane look fake, the sloppy execution of the bamboo(?) and other bits, the too small kogai ana, along with the dusting of rust all make me feel that it is more than a little suss…

I mean… they are absolutely identical, which you would hope would raise a flag for the auction house…

Are there any indications of some of the bells having had rims previously? Seems possible that they might have had the rims removed to make them more unusual.

If you want some reasonable certainty, then the NBTHK certs are a good way to ensure that you are getting a decent piece. Once you have a few pieces in hand you will learn to spot the more obvious issues to avoid when choosing in the future. There are threads on this board that will show examples of modern tsuba. SpartanCrest posts regularly on things he finds on various sites, so you can look there. This was my first mistake:

The apparent quality of the workmanship for the piece is very much at odds with the shoddy workmanship of the nakago-ana - it is not centred, and it has chips off in places. In addition to that, the way that the nakago-ana cuts through the raised items in the centre indicates a later alteration.

Nice pieces… Markus Sesko has an excellent article on this topic: https://markussesko.com/2014/02/02/tsuba-with-the-bird-of-prey-catching-a-monkey-motif/ It’s really interesting to see how the motif has not only been depicted slightly differently, but also can interpreted differently.