Thoughts on ...

[Ed]

..a newly acquired tsuba. Just curious as to what you guys think about this tsuba in regards to it's school or maker. I have had several different thoughts on it, but am leaning towards Kaga Goto, but I could be way off. That about taps my limitations, so I would be interested in what anyone else may have to say.

 

The tsuba is shakudo and depicts sakura blossoms folded over the mimi on to a background of nanako.

[huntershooter]

THAT is magnificient. Believe I could be transfixed for hours admiring your tsuba.

[remzy]

No clue who made this but he sure was a great artist.

[Curran]

Ed,

 

My wife said "Ooh, pretty!".

 

Show me a side profile and confirm with a loupe that the gold is inlaid (not painted on). The nanako is well done. Ever tried doing it yourself? - Difficult!

 

It could be several things. I too would probably think Kaga kinko, but there were other highly skilled centers like Owari kinko working at that skill level. this is a good one to study.

 

Curran

[Ed]

Everyone,

Thanks for the kind words regarding this tsuba. I am glad you liked it.

If you would like to see the other side and some close ups, follow the link provided below.

 

Curran,

Sorry I couldn't reply sooner, we were having server issues last evening and I could not log on.

 

Your question regarding inlay or paint had me scrambling about, as I had assumed it was inlay merely due to the quality of the work. I took several macro shots of the inlay, where clearly seen are gaps between the shakudo and the gold. My conclusion(for what it is worth) is that it is inlay. Please take a look and see what you think, correct me if I am wrong.

 

http://yakiba.com/tsuba_sakura.htm

[remzy]

Looks inlay'd to me and... holy hell! these details... so tiny and all identical

[Ford Hallam]

yes, I don't think there's any doubt, that's true inlay. Great close-up shots too btw. Pretty impressive nanako.

 

Curran, I'm intrigued as to why you would think it might have been painted on, . I've never seen anything like that painted before, have you? I reckon painting those lines would be more difficult than inlaying them, and that's apart from the durability factor.

 

regards, Ford

[myochin]

Fantastic pictures Ed !!

 

I am a little surprised by the top leaf overlapping the seppa-dai. I guess the tip of the leaf is engraved on the seppa-dai and not inlaid on top of it (which would be a nuissance for the fuchi).

I am wondering if this tsuba was ever meant to be mounted; or that that it wasn't a custom-ordered piece at the time.

 

Paul.

 

(PS: received my results ??)

[Martin]

that´s a gorgeous Tsuba, Ed.

Have never seen a similar design like this one before. Any ideas on it´s age?

Drop me an email if you plan to sell it :D

 

cheers,

Martin

[sencho]

Fantastic pictures Ed !!

 

 

I agree!! Fantastic!

 

I am wondering if this tsuba was ever meant to be mounted; or that that it wasn't a custom-ordered piece at the time.

 

I don't know much about this subject, but wouldn't the copper fitting pieces (name? :? ) in the nakano ana, mean that it was definitely mounted?...

 

or I guess you are saying that it could be a tusba that was made not to be mounted and subsequently mounted..

 

Cheers!

[docliss]

I agree with you all. It is beautiful work; the shakudo is lovely and the quality of the nanako is top class. Could this, I wonder, be Goto Ichijo school work?

 

Regards, John L.

[docliss]

I agree with you all. It is beautiful work; the shakudo is lovely and the quality of the nanako is top class. Could this, I wonder, be Goto Ichijo school work?

 

Regards, John L.

[Bungo]

all " purty " things are meant to be mounted............

 

http://www.esnips.com/doc/48e48ef0-f90c ... 5/CSC_0079

 

milt the ronin

[myochin]

or I guess you are saying that it could be a tusba that was made not to be mounted and subsequently mounted..

 

Yes Sencho. I am wondering if this tsuba is a non-commissioned item that was later bought and (maybe even later) mounted onto a koshirae (which is evident by the kuchibeni in the nakago-ana).

 

Ab Fab !!

 

Paul.

[Ed]

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for the comments regarding this tsuba and the quality of the photos. I have been working hard at improving the photo quality, now if I could devise a plan to eliminate that damned dust.

 

I was fairly certain it was inlay prior to having a closer look. Then once the macro shots were examined I felt there was no doubt. However, bowing to those senior to myself in their studies of tsuba, I keep an open mind in order to facillitate my appetition for knowledge.

 

Curran,

So with it being inlay, what are your thoughts.

I am surprised there have been no comments from the other two board authorities, Rich T., and Pete K.

 

Paul,

Yes, the petal of the blossom is engraved into the seppa-dai. I added two more close-ups of that area if you want a better look at it. I don't know the original intention of the maker or owner but at some point it was mounted. You can see the outline where the seppa was in the two new photos. Thanks again for the info.

 

Nigel,

I am pretty sure it was mounted at some point(see above comment to paul). Whether or not that was the intention of the maker is speculation.

 

Martin,

I feel sure it is later work, but I personally can not guess much more than that. That is why I requested more info from my seniors. As far as selling, sorry, not this one. That is unless anyone knows how to get in touch with the two bidders/buyer from the recent Christies sale who bid $75k on that one tsuba.

 

John,

Again, I do not know specifically, but I am pretty sure it will receive a good attribution.

 

If you look closely you will see there are some very minor patination problems. I am having it restored to it's full potential, then it will be off to shinsa in December. Once in I will update everyone.

 

Again, any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

[myochin]

Thanks Ed for those fantastic pictures !

You definitely have mastered macro-photos.

 

Paul.

[Brian]

I am surprised there have been no comments from the other two board authorities, Rich T., and Pete K.

 

You are forgetting...it is not iron, and not sukashi :D :lol: (joke)

I love this tsuba, but I do understand when collectors get past the beautiful kinko stuff and start delving into the metal preparation, sukashi cutouts and early forged iron plates. Different type of appreciation I guess. I can't claim to get it completely yet, but am working on it, and every now and then I make a breakthrough

 

Brian

[Curran]

Ford,

 

At the Tampa show this past year I went around with a knowledgable collector and looked at quite a number of pieces with shakudo & gold like this. We looked at both those for sale and those in collection brought for show-n-tell.

 

About 9 out of 10 were painted on the shakudo. Especially the fuchi/kashira keyfret designs. Sometimes the level of workmanship was amazing. I could only distinquish painted vs inlaid with a loupe or lighted magnifier.

 

It was a learning experience for me. In many instances I couldn't tell with the naked eye. i don't have an explanation other than to wonder how hard it is to work with the shakudo? You know considerably more than me about that.

 

Ed's tsuba looks very nice to me. As if the nanako wasn't amazing enough, the gold does look inlaid from what I can tell. It is a little gem of a tsuba. I wish it were signed. Though I profess to be an 'old iron tsuba' collector, my appreciation for some of 19th century kinko makers grows more and more every year.

 

Curran

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Curran,

 

thanks for the response. You learn something new everyday . Were you given any tell-tale clues to look for and do you know what the paint actually is? urushi perhaps? I'd be facinated to see any images of this technique if anyone has any.

 

thanks again and regards, Ford

 

btw, working shakudo is no different to working copper, and if you'd like a signed version of this tsuba pm me , and it'll definately cost less than $75K

[Curran]

Ford-

 

Nothing profound to share-

 

(1) look for seams, joints, or shortfall/loss of the wire?

 

(2) if you can get a good magnifier and angle, look to see if the gold comes off the shakudo at all. In my limited experience the wire is always polished flat, whereas sometimes the painted gold seems to stand up.

 

I guess it must be gold lacquer. I confess I didn't even really think about it. I was more the student in the discussion. I have a tsuba with intricate wire inlay about 99.99% complete where I could only tell it was inlay due to an almost microscopic loss in a spot on the mimi.

 

It was all a day's lesson and I haven't much thought on it since except when looking at someone's Kaga kinko menuki 2 months ago.

 

I look at Ed's nice little tsuba and believe I see right angle joints of the gold wire. It may be just fooling my eyes, but I don't see anything so far that says anything other than wire inlay. Pretty-pretty.

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hi Curran,

 

thanks for the response. You learn something new everyday . Were you given any tell-tale clues to look for and do you know what the paint actually is? urushi perhaps? I'd be facinated to see any images of this technique if anyone has any.

 

thanks again and regards, Ford

 

http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/7400-7449/07421.html

both sides of the edges are painted by gold

 

hmm

 

***********************************************************

 

Nice tsuba Ed, thanks for sharing, Kaga Goto maybe, but I wonder if this tsuba isn't more of a Yokoya group work?

Looking forward to seeing restoration and shinsa results.