Major Website Update...

[Soshin]

Hi Everyone,

 

This is a just a general announcement about some major website updates I have made. As about 98% of my website is about tosogu so I think this would be the correct section to list the notice. NMB administrators and moderators fill free to move it if this topic is in the wrong location. Here is the direct link to my webpage: http://dastiles1.wix.com/reflections-. Some tsuba I have discuss on NMB and other not. Feel free to contact me by replying to this topic or via a PM if you have any questions. Thank you. :D

 

P.S. The Yagyu tsuba isn't up on my website. I am waiting to finish the work on it (mostly ura side) before taking nice photos.

[cspage]

Hah! So you're the one who got that Yamakichibei, David. I had my eyes on that for so long and violated my best rule of life, "Take tarts when tarts are passing." Congrats. It found a good home. Nice photos.

 

Colin

[Soshin]

Hi Colin,

 

Grey's photos of it are not so great on his website. I saw it at the Baltimore show in person and it looked much better. In my opinion it is the best of the Yamakichibei tsuba coming out of Skip's old collection. :D

[Steve Waszak]

Hi David,

 

While this may be the best Yamakichibei to come out of Skip's collection (so far), and while it does appear to be a fine guard and a period piece (Momoyama to early-Edo), it is not a shodai work, in my opinion. I can see at least three things about it immediately which allow for this conclusion, but hand-held inspection would likely yield more. Again, I'm not disparaging the tsuba: I think it's a good piece (again, just going by the photos), but a workshop piece created in the early 17th-century Yamakichibei atelier. It's also possible that it is a much later work (i.e. 19th-century revival), but my initial thoughts are as I describe them here.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Soshin]

Hi Steve W.,

 

Thankfully Grey didn't charge me $10,000 for it. I am aware of them as well and would go on to say that it would likely get pinked at NBTHK shinsa. As for the NTHK I am not so sure it would fail. It shows a interesting combinations of techniques found in what the NBTHK would call the work of the Shodai and Nidai Yamakichibei. It is similar to a Yamakichibei tsuba in Sasano first book that he had labeled as Shodai that had a raised rim page 181.

[Pete Klein]

"He thought that it meant lean, but he had his finger on the 'r'. Santa told him, "patience, and a smudge of humility would serve you well."

[Soshin]

"patience, and a smudge of humility would serve you well."

 

Hi Pete K.,

 

On NMB you must be kidding.

[Pete Klein]

LOL!!!

[Steve Waszak]

Hi David,

 

That tsuba from page 181 in Sasano's first book, a piece he labels "shodai," is absolutely no-doubt "nidai." Even beyond the fact that it has since gone juyo as "nidai Yamakichibei," it is so obviously and iconically nidai in sensibility, design, style, and execution that it is frankly astonishing that Sasano could have thought it was "shodai" work. A very odd attribution. Pictured below is the tsuba in question.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Pete Klein]

Yeah, that's right buddy, just rub that salt ever deeper into my gaping wounds... WAAAAAAAH!

 

(Steven knows that is one of my favorite tsuba and it was for sale last month at auction in Japan. It sold for around $17,000.00, not that I had that to spend but if I had I would have).

[Steve Waszak]

lol... We'd have been scuffling for it, Pete!

 

I actually can't believe it sold so cheaply. The tsuba is much better than that price, IMHO...

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Soshin]

Hi Steve W.,

 

Thanks for the information. I still think my tsuba has a lot of nidai and shodai characteristics mix together in what is overall a really nice design of twin openwork dragonflies with iron that feels great in hand. Your explanation of my tsuba as a fine guard and a period piece (Momoyama to early-Edo) is likely the most accurate and I will be updating my website shortly. Did notice that the thickness is about the same as the Sasano example at the seppa-dai and this thickness is uniform across the plate with the exception of the raised rim.

I was meaning to ask your opinion of this NTHK-NPO papered Yamakichibei: http://www.seiyudo.com/tu-072813.htm. To me it looks like a period school piece at about the same level as my tsuba. This may also indicate the NTHK-NPO is more reasonable about Yamakichibei tsuba then the NBTHK. Thanks in advance about giving your impressions of this tsuba at the Japanese dealer's website.

 

P.S. I generally have $400-$500 laying around for a tsuba and $1,000-$1,500 is a expensive tsuba for me. But $17,000 thats some serious bucks! Does anyone know who won the auction in Japan for the Sasano Nidai Yamakichibei tsuba?

[Steve Waszak]

PM sent.

[Pete Klein]

It was a tax auction via Yahoo! Japan and as usual you can't read the bidders. I haven't heard anything either.

 

Here is another one in progress. You have to sign up for these - no bidding services allowed -- therefore you have to have a direct agent in Japan to negotiate the auction.

 

http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auct ... uc=&area=_

[Soshin]

Hi Pete K.,

 

Thank you so much for the link! :D I didn't know there was such thing in Japan. Some really nice things up for auction at this Japanese government tax auctions website. Since I not to into nihonto it might be easy for me to get an "agent" give my situation with having family in Japan.

[Pete Klein]

Some of those Juyo items went for cheap. Interesting market commentary. Check them out as they will be removed soon.

 

http://koubai.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auct ... uc=&area=_

[Brian]

Pics were atrocious. Guess you had to be there in person, and then I think it appealed more to the investors looking for diamonds and property.

 

Brian