Tsuba - Ancient Plum Tree

[Keith Jennings]

Dear members,

 

An Iron tsuba with the design of an ancient plum tree. 81.5 mm high, 76.2 mm wide, 4 mm inner. I saw a tsuba with a similar design on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts website, the description said it was from the Nara school early to mid-19th century.

 

Best regards,

Keith

[Curran]

Or Shoami, possibly Aizu shoami.

[Keith Jennings]

Hi Curran,

 

I've read a little about the Shoami School and how they appeared to have copied anyone of note. What is it about the tsuba that says it is Shoami?

 

Keith

[Ted Tenold]

I agree with Curran. I had a tsuba very very similar to this and it was an Aizu Shoami.

[Rich T]

I've read a little about the Shoami School and how they appeared to have copied anyone of note

 

Later groups like Aizu worked in the styles popular at the time, this applied for many of the tsuba groups of the Edo period, all changing and copying each other depending on what was popular. Even Higo and Akasaka did this.

 

Early Shôami tsuba stand shoulder to shoulder easily amongst anything from the Muromachi and Momoyama periods. The exhibit all the qualities one looks for in early iron tsuba, and their use of nunome in those early days is second to none. May folk shun Shôami work, but like all groups, in their later days they tended to drop off, some groups more and further than others. In their hey day though, I think they have many of the finest sukashi tsuba to be found.

 

Cheers

 

Rich