Namban Tsuba Age?

[Chris Wise]

Greetings all, it has been quite a while since I have posted here.  I do work for an auction gallery, and will be requesting some help on a few Tsubas shortly.  If you would like credit for your help in our catalogue please ask, if not credit will be given to Nihonto Message Board for information given and used in catalogue descriptions.

 

So could I have an opinion of age on this iron Namban Tsuba please.

 

Thank you,

 

Chris Wise

[Ford Hallam]

As this would constitute a consultation service for a business concern who do the membership or NMB admin invoice for the expertise sought?

[Chris Wise]

Previously I made a donation to the message board and mentioned them in the cataloguing.  Also, the admins requested that I state that it may be used in a commercial setting.  If the terms of use have changed, please let me know.  If you wish to be reimbursed in a consulting fashion, then I suggest we continue this in a private setting. 

[Brian]

People always have a choice whether they wish to give info or not. I appreciate being told if the info will be used for commercial reasons, and Chris has done that.
I get Ford's point, especially in his line of work. But info is completely voluntary and since we like to moan when auctions get their info completely wrong...it is good that they are seeking out info. Smaller auction companies won't have access to the experts like Bonhams et al.

I have no problem with the request since the reasons were up front. Of course, info given is always an opinion and could be completely wrong. Charging for info would indicate a guarantee that the info is correct?

So point noted. If Ford does have info and wishes to consult for a fee, that would be ideal.

[Chris Wise]

Just so we are on the same page Ford, great web site, and beautiful work.  I always offer to give fair compensation for any information gleaned here.  Sometimes the term fair is skewed in one direction or another but I try.

[Higo-san]

Hi Chris,

 

it is rather difficult to give an Auge for Nanban tsuba - from the workmanship I can see from the pictures (without taking any responsibility for the correctness of the given info), I would GUESS 18th century.

 

Best,

 

Chris

[NLPathfinder]

This guard is probably late 18th century. The kozuka-hitsu has been added, when the guard was adapted to jJapanese use. The so-called "Kanton" style was patterned after Tibetan saddle-plates accompanying tribute-horses, and was very popular with the Qing military. These were called "Kanton" because they were imported by merchants from Guangzhou (Canton), even though the style comes from Central Asia and the Himalayas. Even though the Qianlong emperor specified rounded corners on the sword-handles of his personal guard in 1748, some Chinese swords did not reflect the change, retaining right-angle corners well into the 19th c. The carved seppa-dai on this guard is purely decorative, which suggests that the piece may have been created to be used as a greeting-gift by the Dutch, or as Rangaku-miyage by Japanese studying European science and Chinese medicine in Nagasaki. The design is purely Chinese, but the obsessive carving has more of a Japanese feeling. To make matters even more confusing, there is evidence that Nagasaki Chinatown (Tojin Yashiki) merchants employed both Chinese and Japanese metalworkers. The "tell" there is if one finds a guard signed "Kiyou no ju". "Kiyou" was the Chinese word for "Nagasaki". It is important to remember that Kyushu, had a very different self-image than the rest of Japan, and closer ties to the outside world.  Here is a similar example.

 

https://www.facebook.com/564035753684007/photos/a.564266740327575.1073741828.564035753684007/1039595759461335/?type=3&theater

[Brian]

I think we are going to enjoy your participation very much
Don't forget to sign all posts with at least a first name, or just add it to your signature.