What tsuba do I have here?

[Fake Babu Account]

Any information on period and school would be gratefully received.

I know it's shape is Mokku gato 

It's a dark shakudo with thick gold and other stuff.

A phoenix? And two dragons one male one female.

Thank you

Eddy

[ROKUJURO]

Yes, it is MOKKO GATA, and that is a phoenix. A very attractive TSUBA,  probably 19th century.

[Kurikata]

I would guess mino school.  Very nice shakudo tsuba!

[Spartancrest]

Strickly speeking the depiction is in  Japanese. = Hō-ō 鳳凰 or Hou-ou, Ho-o, Hoo-oo. the Asian phoenix, as you can see from the various spellings you have some choice!

The Hō-ō has nothing to do with the Egyptian or Greek mythological 'bird"

There is a link to find out more here : https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ho-oo-phoenix.shtml

I would agree with both Jean and Bruno - it looks a cut above the average. A lot of late Mino were made much more crudely.

 

[MauroP]

Nice tsuba, but in my opinion not as good as average Mino works. More probably Kyō-kanagushi.

[Babu]

  On 10/4/2020 at 11:07 PM, MauroP said:

Nice tsuba, but in my opinion not as good as average Mino works. More probably .Kyō-kanagushi

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Mauro I've just googled Kyō-kanagushi and looked at about 20 NBTHK tsuba classified as Kyō-kanagushi.

This tsuba is better quality than any of those that I can see. They are mediocre.

Heavy gold,nice carving (no top drawer but not bottom) darkest shakudo good nanako.

I'm not convinced it's Kyō-kanagushi.

 

 

[Brian]

It actually looks a lot better when lightened. As it was, it reminded me of painted fake cast tsuba. I decided to run it through PS.
With a bit of Photoshop, it looks better. Average I would say. Nothing wonderful, just an ok, nice example.

[Babu]

I agree not as bad as Kyō-kanagushi though.

[JohnTo]

IMHO it is a Nagoyamono (thing from Nagoya) rather than a Mino work.  The good news is that it is better than the 'standard series' (as I like to call them) of Nagoyamono that keep turning up in UK and Japanese auctions.  I am not an expert, being more a book newby and often use the Christie's Compton Catalogue as my main source of info as it seems to be of a higher standard than info in the current major auction house of tsuba.  Compton II, lots 132-135 show some nice examples which sold for over £1K (I don't think yours is quite up to that standard and prices were higher then).  Using their catalogue notes.  Nagoyamono were based in Nagoya in the Edo period and used the style of the Goto workers in Mino and Kyoto. The plate metal for the tsuba was nigurome, a base metal of katashirome (tin and lead) and unrefined copper (yamagane).  This alloy is converted to shakudo when 3-7% gold is added, which was not done with the Nagoyamono.  Nigurome gets a chocolate brown patina and not the lovely blue black of shakudo.  The Nagoyamono that I have seen all look cast and then finished by hand (guilding and application of nanako), they also tend to have guilded nanako finished ryuhitsu, as yours.

hope this is of help, best regards John 

[ROKUJURO]

This one seems to have a very fine NANAKO-JI which you don't see in NAGOYA-MONO. Also, the latter usually lack fine details and careful work which this one has, plus a tasteful design. 

[JohnTo]

Sorry Jean, its still looks Nagoyamono to me.  Better than average, but not Mino Goto quality.  It also has two other Nagoyamono features.  You can see shadows of uneveness around the rim, sunken areas typical of cast tsuba (assuming not poor photo here).  The punch marks around the nakago ana appear to be typical Nagoyamono, namely 3 at the top, two pairs of two at the bottom of each sides and three along the bottom edge (ok there is only one here, but there is always some variation).  The 10 punch mark pattern always shouts 'Made in Nagoya' to me. 

 

Best regards, John

[suketaka]

I'm with John.

 

The quality is low level, the piece possible cast. 

[Babu]

Are you talking cast copper only I can see nothing that could possibly lead anyone to this conclusion. Can you please elaborate for me? 

 

[suketaka]

Look at the sunken areas on the Mimi surface.

 

[Babu]

Pure copper is extremely difficult to cast as well as being prone to surface cracking, porosity problems, and to the formation of internal cavities. 

I cannot see any indication myself that this is cast and I'm not sure but the OP could confirm this with a magnifying glass I guess. 

You could be right but I cannot see it myself.