A tsuba with blank backside

[PietroParis]

Hi All,

 

I was checking items at an auction and my attention was drawn to a tsuba (not exactly my kind, but it seemed one of the nicest on show). When I flipped it, I was surprised to see that the ura side was completely blank! Is it something known to happen or it denotes an unfinished work?

 

 

Thanks in advances for your comments (to be clear, I am not planning to bid on this tsuba anyway).

 

Cheers, Pietro

[christianmalterre]

i would definitely not bid on this Tsuba Dito!

 

and yes, such is rather very untypical -especially on rather out "of the bunch" Tsuba....

this is definitely not a high quality work...LOL!

 

( of course...such extravagances do certainly exist...such extravagances but equally are rather preserved to the very latter Kinko-Tsubashi only...)

 

Hmmmph...who knows what happened here ??? Maybe a decoration for furniture like it was traded in the 1860´s to Europe ????

 

Christian

[TETSUGENDO]

 As Christian said it could have been made as a decorative inclusion for furniture, smaller lacquer articles, etc....this was popular in the Meiji period.  Or it could have been altered later, I have, on ocassion, seen things like this mounted on swords with a couple of additional loose plates......why I have no idea.

 

-S-

[PietroParis]

Thanks for your replies! On a second thought, the blank side is the one facing the opponent, so maybe it was meant to make him depressed and less likely to counter the attack...

[TETSUGENDO]

Not a bad thought......simply bore them to death!

 

-S-

[Grey Doffin]

I have been told, according to Robert Haynes (I didn't get this direct from Mr. Haynes; it came second hand) in Late Edo time, when a student in a kodogu shop was ready to head out on his own, he would make a tsuba to demonstrate his proficiency, satisfy his master.  The tsuba was finished one side only.  If this is so (who am I to doubt Robert Haynes?) that could be what we have here.

Grey

[christianmalterre]

read and thought about....

 

sounds nice- is but not workable....( in theoretics yes- in practice no way- as you do loose forcefully clients to pay you if working this way...)

 

 

Christian

[Stephen]

Actually it was for Guidos in the disco era...open polyester shirt hairy chest you get the picture.

 

Not our esteemed teacher the Goomba type

[PietroParis]

I really appreciated when a few days ago somebody reminded a new member that "Japs" is a derogatory term which should not be used in this forum. How are "Goomba" and "Guido" considered acceptable?

 

Having said this, I do get the picture

[Stephen]

In my house it is, capiche?

[TETSUGENDO]

Pietro, both terms are, no doubt, politically incorrect...as are just about all things nowadays.  As for the students 'graduation piece', an interesting thought, I'd like to hear Ford Hallam's take on this.....if this was a common practice he will certainly  be able to enlighten us.

 

-S-

[Guido]

Actually it was for Guidos in the disco era...open polyester shirt hairy chest you get the picture.

I don’t have a very hairy chest, and never wore polyester shirts.

Btw, how would you like waking up with a horse‘s head in your bed?

[PietroParis]

I must assume Stephen means that he is of Italian heritage himself. And I had not noticed before that the line "Interests" in his profile reads "staying alive"...

 

Cheers, Pietro

[PietroParis]

P.S. I guess that, in this community, the "horse head" scene would play out differently...

 

[Brian]

You guys are all nuts. Clinically nuts

[Stephen]

Or would that be cynically nuts?

[Brian]

I sense an English lesson coming...the difference between your and you're.
You're nuts....
Your nuts...

[TETSUGENDO]

[Stephen]

Who's nuts? Or my salty nuts?

[TETSUGENDO]

Or just plain nuts?

 

-S-

[PietroParis]

For the record, the tsuba was sold to a phone bidder for 375 EUR (including fees). The auctioneer’s description did not mention the blank side at all. I hope the buyer had examined the tsuba in person, otherwise they are in for a surprise...

 

Cheers, Pietro

[Kurikata]

Therefore a double side tsuba would cost € 750 ($ 850)? Expensive no?

[TETSUGENDO]

'In for a penny in for a pound'?

 

-S-

[christianmalterre]

they had no Euro those days!

 

only Reichsmark! ....LOLOLOL

[Mantis dude]

Chopping head of horse would obviously be a great thing to document on The sword. Would raise the value. I am thinking of calling Brooklyn and starting a horse head chopping service for nihonto.

 

As for this tsuba,I have never seen a 1 sided tsuba. I have read about students creating pieces for their master. I have seen student work but they have always been finished pieces. I might be mixing up some comments with sword smithing but I thought there has been debate with older smiths that would add their name to pieces that their students did (if the quality was there). I'm pretty sure that tsuba exist signed by the student but with their masters name. These student signatures can be identified (goto school comes to mind).

 

There are multi Smith made tsuba and maybe the 2nd Smith never got to it. I think these are usually higher quality items. Could be so many things but No matter, I think this has to be an outlier. This is an offer I could easily refuse.

 

Forget about it !!

[Brian Ayres]

Maybe because it’s a dragon in the sky it is Kū(void) and the blank was intentional. Considering it has sekigane for mounting I would lean towards a purposeful intended blankness.

[Ford Hallam]

 

Occam's razor perhaps suggests the simplest answer...

[Barrie B]

I have a one sided Tsuba - if you want to call it that. I think mine is 'finished' on the back, (as in the Jigane) but simply has no design. (intentionally left blank).

 

Mine is papered to Aizu Shoami by the NBTHK.

 

 

Barrie.

 

 

[Ford Hallam]

The 'so called' masterpiece of work made by a journey man apprentice in the European tradition was always a complete work, ready for sale, and in fact often then a useful sale in terms of capital with which to set up independently. It would have been adjudged by the Guild of the apprentice's home city, and if considered good enough the applicant would be admitted to the guild as a fully fledge master himself.

 

I've not come across any such similar customs in the Japanese traditions. What was sometimes done was that after the prescribed or agreed term a, now competent, worker would stay on with their master for a few more years as a 'thank you'.

 

But merely perusing the careers and travels of many of the more well documented artists of the tradition reveals that time spent with masters varied quite a bit. There seems to have been much more flexibility in Edo Japan than in Europe at the same time.

[Pete Klein]

So, Barrie - is the paper white, green, Hozon etc..?