Sanmai Tsuba

[RobertM]

Hi all, Its the first time ive seen a sanmai tsuba and and scratching my head trying to identify school or even age. Are Sanmai tsuba common? To me this looks like simple stamped sheets applied to a copper core. Would this tsuba once had a rim? How are the sheets fixed to the copper? opinions welcomed.

 

Rob M

[Stephen]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17398-ever-see-anything-like-this/

 

seen one like that on ebay by daimyou54eb but its gone now...maybe this one?

 

another one

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FINE-EDO-PERIOD-SANMAI-TSUBA-WITH-DRAGON-DESIGN-fuchi-samurai-sword-fitting-/272003580657?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=DRopWQxAzx31DV393QEQp2kxtLI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[Stephen]

Another one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DRAGON-WAVE-TSUBA-of-KATANA-sword-EDO-3-1-2-9-0-3-310g-/291580017051?hash=item43e385f99b

[ROKUJURO]

Rob,

sometimes the decorated outer layers were fixed with rivets which can be seen in the SEPPA-DAI. Many of these TSUBA have a FUKURIN (rim) to fix the sheets, but in your case they seem to be soldered.  

It may be difficult to tell a production date. Some were very late and mass produced tourist pieces. 

[seattle1]

Hello:

Should you have any doubt such tsuba are considered legitimate pieces, and they are not particularly common.

Arnold F.

[Bazza]

I picked up a nice one from a mate a few years ago.  Here's what he wrote about it:

===============================================================

This is a very nice Ko Kinko Sanmai construction shakudo tsuba. It has a well carved shakudo fukurin that keeps the 3 plates in place. This piece would date to the late Muromachi or Momoyama Era (ca1560 - 1590). It is mokko in shape with a floral pattern delicately carved on its surface. Small silver droplets of dew have been added to the leaves. It measures 7.1 cm by 6.8 cm. Excellent condition.
There are two plugged holes in the seppa dai that are in fact rivets, used generally in kinko tsuba featuring sanmei (3 plate) construction. Holes are made through the 3 plates on both sides of the nakago ana and a rivet is inserted and hammered down to fix the 3 plates together. This is finished off smooth and the shakudo finish is added to the plate. The tsuba is then finished off with a fukurin to complete the mimi and hold the 3 plates together at the rim as well as to hide the appearance of 3 plates.

===============================================================

 

Here are a couple of pics of it.

 

Bestests,

BaZZa.,

 

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

BaZZa (what is your real first name please?)

This is a fine example of a high quality SANMAI TSUBA, the 'Rolls Royce version' of one! As it seems, both sides have been decorated individually and differently, and then fixed on a base plate.

Some SANMAI TSUBA that I have seen have two equally decorated sides, impression molded from thin metal sheets.

[Bazza]

G'day Jean,

 

My real name is Barry, but all my life I have been called Bazza.  In my retirement I jazzed it up a bit with the two capital Z!!

 

I do have some other sanmai with the two equally decorated sides, but the one I showed is the pick of the bunch.

 

Regards,

Barry

aka BaZZa.

[Marius]

BaZZa,

 

you can't compare your tsuba with Rob's. Yours is older and of good quality, Rob's is basically a cheap tsuba churned out in numbers, but trying to look "rich".

 

To be honest, Rob, I don't think there was a "school" which made these crude tsuba. You don't call the Yokohama workers of the Meiji period a school, either.

 

BTW, another example of an average quality sanmai tsuba - a group of three nearly identical (I used to own them as a group, sold them since):

 

http://yakiba.com/Tsuba_Ko-Kinko_Group.htm

[RobertM]

Thanks for the input guys. All very interesting. I was never under any impression it was of any quality, just more of a curiosity tsuba. BaZZa's is obviously very nice in comparison. 

 

Rob M

[Bazza]

  On 10/8/2015 at 1:10 PM, mariuszk said:

BTW, another example of an average quality sanmai tsuba - a group of three nearly identical (I used to own them as a group, sold them since):

 

http://yakiba.com/Tsuba_Ko-Kinko_Group.htm

Mariusz,

I remember this grouping very well. Thirty or so years ago I had a nearly identical tsuba except it was round.  I didn't know about sanmai then so I can't recall whether it was rivetted.  I have an old photo somewhere I'll keep an eye out for.

BaZZa.

[MauroP]

Hi Rob,

of course most of sanmai tsuba are mass produced low quality pieces, but I don't think they are late items for tourists. We just have to accept the idea that tsuba with very little artistic merit have been produced for centuries, and are not necessarily the byproduct of late  "western degeneration" versus "the old happy times".

The sensei of NBTHK releasing a kanteisho paper with a ko-kinkō attribution simply certificate that the tsuba is a true old item (and thus an historic valuable), but not necessarily judge on its artistic value.

Here below some sanmai tsuba which got a NBTHK paper:

From:

A - http://winners-auction.jp/productDetail/17054

B - http://www.shibuiswords.com/tsuba.htm#ko-kinko

C - http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kelu-cafe/c/7198c0d2e90f8747ff80181f0ebaaec2/1

D - http://toyuukai.com/2013/03/%E6%A5%93%E6%A8%B9%E9%81%8A%E9%B9%BF%E5%9B%B3%E9%90%94/

Bye, Mauro

[RobertM]

Thanks for the info Mauro

 

Rob M

[parfaitelumiere]

I just bought this, was thinking about ko-kinko, design looks very early.
I was first thinking about a several layers item, but it seems to be solid, I don't have the tsuba in hand for now, so it's possible the decorative layer to be very thin, and explaining why it seems to be solid on seller pictures.
What is strange is the other side, plain, meanign the other decorative plate has been lost or removed?!
Size is about 65mm round, and 2,9mm thick.
 

[Pete Klein]

"...the other decorative plate has been lost or removed"?

 

Looks like.

[TETSUGENDO]

Another resurrected topic!   Too bad it isn't as easy to do likewise for the tsuba.

 

-S-