A series of fittings ( or how not to build a collection )

[b.hennick]

The mon is the mitsu tomoe.

[Bob M.]

Item No. 60  Iron tsuba with remnants of gold highlighting  6.6 cm x 6.4 cm x 6.1 mm

 

Heavy , smoothly finished , nice tactile piece of iron , thinner in centre , deep chocolate brown patina - well made no fuss piece , unsigned

 

Item No. 61 Iron Tsuba with brass inlay 8.32 cm diameter x 4.3 mm thick

 

Cartwheel ? shape with brass inlays , all complete...   Any thoughts as to its origins gratefully received.

 

Both items from a large auction lot purchased some 4 years ago.

[Bob M.]

Just occurred to me  - for some reason the decoration / symbols around  Item No. 61 reminds me of the Phaistos Disc....

 

Undecipherable ?

[Kurikata]

Similar one without inlays but same topic. Not as nice as yours ....School unknown.....

[DirkO]

Regarding nr 61 it's probably a Japanese water wheel:

 

[Curran]

Also fold in the meaning of the 8 Spokes of Buddhism.

Both pragmatic design and faith intersect.

 

[Bob M.]

Item No. 62 - Iron Tsuba with gold highlighting - 7.1 cm dia. x 0.45 cm thick

 

Choshu Tsuba of typical design ,  signed   -   Coshu Hagi ju Kaneko Jurobei nojo Yukinaka   -   Kaneko school around 1700 - Haynes 12435 ?

 

Nicely worked piece with good overall colour and patina - much darker in hand than in pictures

 

Ex Paul de Coninck Collection

Ex Ivan Lepage Collection

Ex Deutz van Chouiek Collection

 

Purchased from a European Auction 8 years ago.

[DirkO]

Choshu Hagi ju Kaneko Jurobei Yukinaka - I always thought Choshu to be underrated - they did have some very good pieces, although the general ones are indeed so-so.
Of the Kaneko family. He was called Jurobei son of Yukishige. He was skilled at carving plants and flowers. He used a somewhat wide mimi and carefully and tastefully inlaid gold.

 

Kaneko school lineage (yours is the 2nd gen)

Other example of the same maker:

[Bob M.]

Item No. 63  Iron tsuba with gold inlay - 8.13 cm x 72.4 cm x 0.47 cm

 

Modern made tsuba by Ford Hallam , about 14 years ago , subject of Orchids against a textured background , reminiscent of Natsuo style.

 

A few views under different lighting conditions.

 

 

 

[b.hennick]

Ford has an amazing range in his work 

[Brian]

Always loved that one.

[Bob M.]

Careful what you say - he might start thinking that he's good at it...

[MauroP]

Hi, inlay decoration of tsuba no. 61 looks like shimenawa, a rope with ferns and paper stripes delimiting a sacred space in Shinto rituals.

[Bob M.]

Item No. 64 Large Iron Tsuba with Gold  8.47 cm x 7.86 cm x 0.50 cm

 

Subject of Sukashi Dragons in a field of gold key pattern inlay , unsigned. The inlay continues around the mimi , dragons' eyes are gold .

 

Unknown age or school ,  described by Auction House as dating to approx 1780 , ie 240 years old...

 

Bought a few years ago at a European Auction.

 

 

[thutson]

Beautiful piece Bob, the inlay and carving is excellent.

[Bob M.]

Item No. 65 - Menuki in shakudo

 

Subject - Views of Mount Fuji with clouds and sailing boats in the foreground

 

With signature Furakawa Mototaka  - according to Sesko's Genealogies , Oyama/Sekijoken School ( Mito )

 

Nicely made  , unfussy pair of Menuki

 

Bought from Japanese Dealer 10 years ago.

[Bob M.]

Re Item No. 65

 

Some additional pictures taken in brighter light...

[Brian]

They really are stunning menuki. Like those catfish menuki we've seen on the NMB before, they are very fluid and graceful.

[Greg F]

Bob 63 and 64 are beautiful iron tsuba and I like the mt Fuji menuki.

Loving your collection. 

[Tanto54]

Hi Bob,

 

Nice Fuji-san and boats menuki on item #65!  Both Haynes and Sesko say that this artist's name is better read as "Genchin" instead of Mototaka (although both say that some other sources do read it that way or as Motoyoshi).  Also, in my Sesko (Toso-Kinko Schools), he doesn't have this artist in Mito or the Oyama/Sekijoken School.   Instead he is an Edo artist who studied with Yokoya Somin.  Haynes says he lived in the early 1700's, and while he did a lot of Somin-type katakiribori early on, he eventually started his own style and school.  Here's a picture.

 

 

[Bob M.]

Re Item No. 65

 

Thanks for all the comments and help on this .

 

It would appear then , that the menuki date from around 1710 ( again , much earlier than I had thought ) and their maker started the Furakawa school.

 

According to Sesko's Genealogies , whichever way you interpret the signature , there is a route back to a Yokoya - maybe a root route ? ( Sorry )

 

Yet again , items showing  hidden attributes that reward  research.

[Bob M.]

Item No. 66 - Kozuka in shakudo and gold with copper and silver

 

Subject - New Year with a Buriburi on wheels and wakamisu scene on reverse ( first drawn water of New Year )

 

Superior quality all round with miniature nanako  , inlays on the Buriburi etc. 

 

Signed Akichika  , with kao ( Kono school )  - as a  student of Haruaki Hogen ( famed for his incredible attention to detail ) the level of workmanship is  , perhaps , not surprising.

 

From a European auction about 4 years ago

 

Scale on close up pictures of nanako is in millimetres

[Tanto54]

I remember Item #66 from a theme kantei that Ford did here some years ago:

 

[Geraint]

Oh, that is a beautiful kozuka!

 

All the best.

[Bob M.]

Re Item No.66

 

A few closer views for anyone who is interested -

 

Strangely enough , my remark about a root route leading back to Yokoya ( Item No. 65 ) also applies to this piece.

 

[Bob M.]

Item No. 67 - Iron Tsuba with gold and copper details   6.33 cm x 5.93 cm x 0.54-0.96 cm

 

Subject of wasp emerging from cavity in tree - unsigned ,  thought to be Nara school - any ideas ?

 

Beautifully detailed piece , texturing on tree bark is particularly well done.

 

Bought from an American dealer 10-12 years ago.

[Bob M.]

Item No. 68 - Fuchi Kashira in shakudo with gold, copper, silver and shakudo iroe-takazogan inlays

 

Subject of insects and wild plants on a field of fine nanako

 

Signed   Horie Okiyoshi saku

 

Nicely produced fuchi kashira with much detailing on plants and insects .

 

Horie school was started by Shozui ( Hamano ) and Teruhide which would probably date this work to early 1800s.

 

ex Lundgren Collection no. 253

[Bob M.]

[Bob M.]

Item No. 69   - Kozuka in shibuichi with gold , silver , copper and shakudo

 

Subject of crane and pine , with rising sun on rear.

 

The shibuichi ground has almost an iridescence , from the silver content . Another of these pieces that glow in the hand , very difficult to portray through photos.

 

Signature -  Tomei with kao .

 

The kozuka was taken to Japan in 2009 , when we visited the DTI and a TKK gathering , to canvas opinions on this and some other pieces , amongst other things. Three Japanese sensei looked at it and said that they could not decide on authenticity and it should be sent to shinsa . I asked them not to be just polite about it , but they said they weren't and really could not decide - I still think they were being polite about it...

 

As usual , any help with Wakayama images or other pointers would be gratefully received - Thanks !

 

Hopefully these pictures will give an idea of the quality of workmanship.

 

[Brian]

@Ford Hallam
That would be the person I would ask. Either way, I like it a lot. Surface ground appears really well done. Overall an impressive piece.