Minogame Wave tsuba, origin or school info?

[terminus]

Bought this tsuba recently since I love the composition and work. I know the subject is Mino-Kame and the base is Shakudo Nanakoji but any idea of the school, age or who might have made it?

[Ford Hallam]

Well it's very ornate and bold. "In your face' we might say over here

 

That sort of style then suggests a late date of manufacture and more Edo/Tokyo than Kyoto or the Provinces.

 

After that I feel as though it'd be more a matter of saying who probably didn't make it. 

 

 

Having said that there are somethings about it that bother me.  The most obvious are the little dimples in the nanako ground, and irregularity around one of the hitsu.

And while it might just be the photo quality the chiselled lines on the waves and clouds look a bit indistinct and rough in places.

 

Given the apparent sumptuousness of the piece it's surprising that the gilding is so thin and worn.

[TETSUGENDO]

I agree, it does feel late Ford, perhaps something made 'en masse' for the western market, that might explain the haste and economy of manufacture.    If it was made late enough it may incorporate western production methods.  The place of origin Edo/Tokyo seems spot on, it probably explains the 'over the top' Yokoya/Ōmori flavour.  

 

-S-

[vajo]

I agree with Ford and Steven. But i must say this tsuba looks nicely made and looks surely good in your collection as an eyecatcher.

[terminus]

Well it's very ornate and bold. "In your face' we might say over here

 

That sort of style then suggests a late date of manufacture and more Edo/Tokyo than Kyoto or the Provinces.

 

After that I feel as though it'd be more a matter of saying who probably didn't make it. 

 

 

Having said that there are somethings about it that bother me.  The most obvious are the little dimples in the nanako ground, and irregularity around one of the hitsu.

And while it might just be the photo quality the chiselled lines on the waves and clouds look a bit indistinct and rough in places.

 

Given the apparent sumptuousness of the piece it's surprising that the gilding is so thin and worn.

Thanks for the really great insight Ford!

I definitely think this tsuba was made for export for foreigners just by the aesthetic alone.

 

A few things I noticed while inspecting the tsuba in hand:

 

-The heads of all three minogame have a lot of depth and are definitely inlays. Body is thinner while tail is very thin gilded gold. 

-Surprisingly the eyes actually have tiny tiny inlays in them. 

-The quality /workmanship is rather inconsistent. The wave carvings in some areas are done elegantly and yet in other areas look rather sloppy. Same with the clouds. 

-The gold pines are def inlays but don’t have the same level of definition as the minogame.

-The Hitsu Ana is strange. So I’m not sure if it’s actual wear and tear or the Nanakoji is off but at the edges are rather sharp in areas and soft in others. 

-Overall, I don’t see any cast work here at all, def something made for export to foreigners due to the composition, and if it’s modern I have a feeling probably not recent but maybe like in the last 50+ years.

[Vermithrax16]

It seems inspired by the tsuba in this blog post (About 2/3rds way down):

https://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2015/04/minogame-turtle.html

 

Did you copy the Aoi listing info? That would help figure out what they thought of it.

[terminus]

It seems inspired by the tsuba in this blog post (About 2/3rds way down):

https://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2015/04/minogame-turtle.html

 

Did you copy the Aoi listing info? That would help figure out what they thought of it.

Wow! yea that looks so similar to this one. I wonder if there was a workshop making tsubas of this general composition for foreigners or if this was a copy of that tsuba. 

 

I have the aoi listing and approval papers actually but they only say the theme, the size, and the materials and techniques used to make the tsuba. No origin info at all. 

[terminus]

This was all the info aoiart had:

 

[Rodenbacher]

The thickness of the plate, the eclectic composition and the inconsistent artistic quality points to Oda school, Satsuma. They made Tsuba like that in the late Edo period. They often had some typical Namban features and the odd Hitsu-Ana on this Tsuba could be a hint to that school. The Tsuba in the photo here has a Namban Seppa-Dai, but shows no other Namban features.