Please assist with Fuchi Kashira of samurai under a tree

[shan]

I got this FC and it appears to be reasonably well done and with heavy gold and silver carving.

I can take better images that are less "shiny" but i thought i would just run it by the fittings experts before i got too involved in images.

It looks way better than it photographs.

would you think it a good make or poor?

thanks

shan

 

 

[Brian]

Care to guess?

Nanako quality is the give-away. Late edo, good for mounting?

 

Brian

[shan]

Hi Brian,

Not really very knowledgable in this area but shoami?

Its carved not pressed and is way better in person.

It has an old repair/

regards

shan

[Henry Wilson]

Hi Brian,

Not really very knowledgable in this area but shoami?

 

shan

 

 

:lol:

[shan]

apologies i meant The Soten School (not Shoami,Tsuba on the brain i guess)

I believe they used to do samurai stories thenes etc...

or maybe i am way off the mark as usual.

shan

[Bungo]

Shan,

CRAPS ( what you showed ) !!

 

you should have aimed at least this level if you are into samurai theme.............

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0138520589

 

 

milt

[shan]

Hi Milt,

OK thats a much better heavier piece than mine and yes its very nice.

But i can see a lot of similarities and the school (or school copiers)covered a vaste period.

I will try to take better images and get back to you.

Mine is in not as fine condition and slightly less detailed theme but the characters and gold are rendered the same.

Mine is also uncleaned as i don`t know how to do it.

I am not sayiing its a masterworks, but in hand,it is quite nicely done,Its for mounts.

(In my defence).

regards

Shan

[docliss]

Shan, as Brian intimates, you really should be attempting these mini-kantei yourself now. May we, perhaps, run through this together …?

 

On looking at your fuchi-gashira we may notice a number of things:

1. The metal of which it is made does not have the rich, deep patination of good shakudō. It appears to have some brownish patches, and may even not be true shakudō, but rather a copper alloy with black pigment applied to it.

2. The quality of the nanako is poor. If you compare it with several of the good examples that have recently been posted you will see that the granules are irregularly spaced and mal-aligned, and that many of them are incomplete circles.

3. The figure and the tree are both very crudely depicted and are unpleasing to the eye. It also appears as though the gold decoration has been applied to the underlying metal, probably by a fire-gilding process using mercury.

 

I can understand your Sōten pitch; the figure has the silver face with the high cheek bones that are frequently seen in such work. But I personally feel that the quality of the work is not good enough to justify a Hikone-bori label, and would label it as Nagoya-mono – a C19 shiiremono made for export.

 

Regards, John L.

[shan]

Well thanks for that,I see i still see things through "rose coloured glasses" so to speak.

I am not looking deep enough it seems, i am still in the superficial "mode".

I will try to judge better and be a little more discerning in choices.

I promise the next item will be of much better quality and deserve to be discussed (probably...hopefully.....Maybe?)

To digress slightly... because i have to......

The Post from me titled "Any views on these items that came today?" 119 views and not one reply (like garlic to a vampire... i am to this forum)

Did you like the silver Tsuba ,Habaki and Seppa that i posted images of?They came with a koto blade i got.The Fuchi of a tiger that came with that was also a low status item?

Would being silver mean it was higher status by the way or more for export as western tastes prefered silver?

regards

shan

[reinhard]

(like garlic to a vampire... i am to this forum)

 

A daywalker I can handle garlic every now and then, but when it comes in clusters I prefer to stay in my cozy coffin.

 

reinhard

[Bungo]

Felix...........

 

 

milt

[shan]

Just as a point really,and not disageeing with you Jon,what you say makes scense.

 

"1. The metal of which it is made does not have the rich, deep patination of good shakudō. It appears to have some brownish patches, and may even not be true shakudō, but rather a copper alloy with black pigment applied to it.

2. The quality of the nanako is poor. If you compare it with several of the good examples that have recently been posted you will see that the granules are irregularly spaced and mal-aligned, and that many of them are incomplete circles."

 

1. the area that looks different with Brownish patches is something a little like Limescale,It can be scratched of with a bit of bamboo but its not easy as its stubborn and i am worried of damaging the material underneath it.

2.The area of Nanako you see is in fact an old repair as the kashira has been split from that area right across to the RH Side shitodome (as viewed inlarge image of Kashira)and beyond.underneath there is a copper "solder" that reinforces the repair.

I will take images if it is of any importance.

3. If the character and Tree is crudely depicted then there is nothing i can do about that.I will look more closely in future.

I as always am gratful for the help offered.

regards

shan