iron tsuba

[vlado]

Greetings.

This is my first purchase of iron tsuba and I have problems to determine age and school. My opinion is that could probably be made in edo period, medium quality.

Studying Iron Tsuba is very difficult field, so I ask for some comment if is possible.

measurements are

height - 8,62 cm

width - 8,46 cm

thickness at mimi - 5,4 mm

thickness at seppa dai - 5,6 mm

 

Best regards

Miha G.

[Soshin]

Hi Miha G.,

 

What do you like or attached you to this tsuba that you purchase it?

[Barrie B]

Miha,

 

Very functional 'tea taste' tsuba… I actually don't mind it. Probably mounted on a very austere koshirae, once..

 

Barrie.

[vlado]

Hello David and Barrie,

I buy it because I somehow like this tsuba, it is nice simple shape maru gata and has nice plugs for both hitsu ana filled with copper, the hira on tsuba is loking strait smoth iron finish and mimi has interesting fine gold nunome.

I forgot to mention that the weight of tsuba is over 200g. it is very heavy.

I hope that my purchase was okay,

Regards,

 

Miha G.

[Gunome]

Hello

  vlado said:

... has nice plugs for both hitsu ana filled with copper

Copper or lead ?

 

This tsuba is simple but nice.

Sorry, no guess regarding the school.

[vlado]

Hello Sebastien,

I looked and I have to admit that it looks that is lead.

Thank you that you noticed.

Regards,

 

Miha G.

[Marius]

Miha,

 

it looks better than medium quality. While the gold aplications on the mimi seem only so so (in fact, they looks like a later addition), the iron looks well forged, and the surface finish looks nice and carefully done. The decorative yet restrained hitsu ana plugs indicate that someone who owned this tsuba really liked it.

 

Attribution is tough, but it looks like a well made (late?) Edo piece. If you send it to the NBTHK, it will probably come back with... Shoami

 

If you ask me, I'd call it an Edo tosho tsuba. But to be honest, I wouldn't bother with attributions. Does it feel good in hand? If yes, than it is a good tsuba :-)

 

Well done

[Soshin]

  vlado said:

I hope that my purchase was okay.

 

Hi Miha G.,

 

Buy tsuba that you like don't try to please strangers on the internet that often don't even give their full name while criticizing.

 

*hijack removed - Admin*

[vlado]

Hello,

Mariusz thank you for nice comment, I really appreciate it. Will try to find and read much more about Shoami and edo tosho, ( maybe it was made for gift only my thought )- of course, that we will never know. I have to say that in hand tsuba feel very good.

David of course I bought it because I like. When I say-( I hope that my purchase was okay ) I did not want to please strangers but myself.

Best regards and thank you all.

 

Miha G.

[Soshin]

  vlado said:

David of course I bought it because I like. When I say-( I hope that my purchase was okay ) I did not want to please strangers but myself.

 

Hi Miha G.,

 

Still I find your comment strangely vague when I first read it and when your repeated it above. It might be cultural or a language usage differences. Not a big deal keep studying, searching the forum, and check out all the websites in the links section.

 

P.S. Administrator and moderators when is posting a tsuba from about the same time period showing a similar texture (i.e. finish) to the iron off topic? No need to reply to this topic just send me the answer via PM so that I can learn and move forward.

[Marius]

Miha,

 

this does not look like a gift tsuba. These tend to be more ornate, with design elements sometimes intruding seppa-dai. Yours has been mounted. The applications of gold look out of place in this tsuba, but keep in mind that tsuba have been altered.

 

As for your remark about pleasing yourself, not strangers... Well, if you post here asking for opinions, you will sometimes hear things that may displease you. But that is the nature of learning. A slightly more humble attitude makes the beginner sympathetic to the seasoned collector here and it encourages the latter to spend his time to help the former

 

Shoami is a huge group with different schools pr branches (e.g. Aizu, Mito, Shonai, etc). Sometimes it is being used as a grab bag for tsuba that do not fit elsewhere. Don't bother to study "Edo tosho", as there is no such school, it is just a style - plain iron tsuba, mostly with ko-sukashi. Even the term ko-tosho (pre Edo "swordsmith's tsuba") is just a construct, a neat box in which scholars have put certain tsuba with common characteristics. Same goes for ko-katchushi. No sources regaring particular schools and their implied roots in sword or armor making exist.

 

If tsuba are of interst to you, why not buying some good books (and I don't mean the expensive ones).

 

Haynes/Torigoye " Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study" is an excellent and cheap book (a must-have):

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.c ... etic-study

 

Sasano's " Early Japanese Sword Guards: Sukashi Tsuba" is indispensible for sukashi tsuba (including ko-tosho):

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.c ... uba-sasano.

 

These two will give you a good start and I guarantee that thet will expand your knowledge.

 

Good luck :-)

[Soshin]

  mariuszk said:

 

Haynes/Torigoye " Tsuba: An Aesthetic Study" is an excellent and cheap book (a must-have):

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.c ... etic-study

 

Sasano's " Early Japanese Sword Guards: Sukashi Tsuba" is indispensible for sukashi tsuba (including ko-tosho):

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.c ... uba-sasano.

 

Hi Miha G.,

 

I have both of these books and they are excellent references that I still use today. Keeping in mind that I started my study back in 2001. I fully recommend both books. I purchased the second book off of eBay for a very reasonable price. Mariusz K., and a few other collectors do not like eBay but from my experience I have had a good overall experience buying and selling in the World Wide flea market.

[vlado]

Thank you for advice I will try to buy it via mr. Grey Doffin website. Will do my best to study much as possible and expand my knowledge.

Sorry for my bad english.

Thank you,

Best regards,

 

Miha G.

[Marius]

Miha,

 

your English is fine, and Grey's site is an excellent source for books. Plus, Grey is a great guy, very kind and helpful :-)

 

BTW, here is a review of Sasano's book (called the "Golden Sasano" because of its slip cover) that I have written years ago. You may find it interesting:

http://gomabashi.blogspot.com/2010/03/t ... think.html

 

Good luck :-)