Any thoughts on this tsuba?

[Bob M.]

Please let me have any thoughts/comments on this tsuba - particularly where the mei is concerned.

Suggestions have been made that the tsuba might be 2nd line Goto...

I do not have enough knowledge to be able to form an opinion.

[Ludolf Richter]

Hi Bob,the Mei (in Sosho/grass writing) reads Nagatsune.Minamoto Ichinomya Nagatsune (with Daijo and Kami honory title like a swordsmith!) was one of the top Tsuba artists of his time.He lived and worked from 1722-1787 at Kyoto.The characters of your Mei are a little bit different from his Mei:your Tsuba was either made by one of his many followers or is faked with Gimei.Ludolf

[Bob M.]

Hi Ludolf,

Thanks for your reply - Very interesting.

 

 

Perhaps I can ask another question or two of anyone willing to aswer :

 

What is your opinion on gimei signatures on tsuba - there is an on-going debate on the board about gimei on swords and whether this is a part of their history or if they should be treated as a disease and ruthlessly eliminated - we do not seem to be so passionate about tsubas , is this a value thing ?

Do people have gimei signed tsubas rectified ?

 

Perhaps I am being naive ( and I do realise that I am leaving myself open for comment on this ) but I've tried to acquire both swords and fittings on the basis of workmanship and interest , with papers/guarantees being a secondary consideration - at least at the lower end of the market.

Is workmanship or authenticity of equal or greater merit to each other ?

 

All views welcome !

[Pete Klein]

I think this is an excellent and most valid question and from my point of view the answer comes down to your personal objective in collecting. If you collect art for art's sake (to use the old MGM line) then it probably doesn't matter if the signature is valid or not. Many gimei pieces have merit on their own, the gimei possibly being done by a student. A prominent collector Carlo Monzino whose collection was the focus of a famous 1990's Sotheby sale collected simply 'what he liked' (see introduction to the sale catalog) paying little heed to the validity of a signature. If one can live with the fact that resale might be difficult then why not? However, if you are collecting for scholarship, then it is a different issue all together. Research and collecting pieces which are part of a makers 'oeuvre' would make the mei a significant part of the piece and it's legitimacy is paramount. It is also simply the case that high end signed pieces are usually better in quality than others. (note: lack of a signature does not equate with lack of quality as many commissioned pieces have no signature). So I would suppose one must define one's objective in collecting first and then decide a path. I have found that most collectors begin collecting in a more general manner and then if they decide to pursue the field become more involved in researching, etc so move into the more academic side.

I think it should also be noted that it is much easier to remove the mei from a nakago than the surface of a fitting which can be an almost impossible task without destroying the patina of the piece. A nakago accepts the hammering and re-patination more readily and although it probably does have some effect on the piece it is a bit more accepted (as in papers will be given) as opposed to a tsuba, or even more so kinko pieces, which have been noticeably altered.

[Ludolf Richter]

There are authors who believe that certain students of a school had been allowed to use their master's mei on their pieces,e.g.the students of the later Soten-masters:Gimei or not Gimei!?Ludolf