Second Tsuba from Sloans & Kenyon Estate Auction...

[Soshin]

Just ideas about this tsuba that has long since left my collection. While the carving style is an old one seen sometimes in the Kamakura-bori style of tsuba the rim shape is very atypical of Kamakura-bori style tsuba as well as the other thickness of the tsuba. I now have two Kamakura-bori style tsuba in my collection and they have hugely different style rims and very thin plates. The carving and along the rim are also not seen in Kamakura-bori style tsuba. The gold inlayed eyes are also not something seen in Kamakura-bori style tsuba. The plain Higo call to that tsuba means the NBTHK was not able to put the tsuba into one of the five main schools of Higo Provience (Kamiyoshi, Hayashi, Nishigaki, and Jingo). There were other independent artists working in Higo Province both professionally and as a side hobby while being samurai during the Edo Period.  Of these five main schools of Higo Provience my old tsuba shows most similarities with the Jingo School.           

[MauroP]

  On 4/16/2024 at 11:12 AM, Soshin said:

The gold inlayed eyes are also not something seen in Kamakura-bori style tsuba.

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There is a counterexample for everything (in tōsōgu speculation, at least...), that's why basically I'm no more interested in attribution to school, provided one consider it no more than a fun game (like recognize incense flavours). 

 

[Winchester]

On the above example, which David posted and Mauro shared for additional commentary, the eyes on this tsuba are brass.

 

The later example--and subject of the post--is later and the eyes are gold.

 

I think they are cool, regardless of 1400's-1800's and just like the style. Just so rarely see them, let alone for sale. 

[Spartancrest]

 Another from the Varshavsky site   =  He has doubled up with the guard from "Kamakura-bori tsuba with design of a dragon. Muromachi period, c. 1450." and the same guard sold later from the  "Professor A. Z. Freeman and the Phyllis Sharpe Memorial collections №36, pp. 18-19." and is once again the second guard as posted by Mauro above

 https://varshavskyco...ist&product_count=54

[Soshin]

  On 4/16/2024 at 8:16 PM, MauroP said:

There is a counterexample for everything (in tōsōgu speculation, at least...), that's why basically I'm no more interested in attribution to school, provided one consider it no more than a fun game (like recognize incense flavours). 

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All three examples basically support the point I was trying to make. Time to move on and talk about other things.