Sugiura Joi - or maybe no joy 🤔

[Grevedk]

Dear NMB fellowship,

 

I have just acquired this beautiful maru gata tsuba from a dealer in Japan. The material is Shibuichi (alloy of copper and silver), and it has a deep silver grey patina. The drawing could be of Ri Tekkai, one of the eight Taoist immortals.

 

Spec: 70 x 66 mm

 

Mei and Kao is apparently identical (as far as I can tell) to the great Nara artist, Sugiura Joi. Both design, the used materials, and the carving is very close to other pieces by that famous artist that I have seen. But that name has been used as gemei quite a few times, and I have read that he was not known to have made that many tsuba during his lifetime.

 

So - I would again both enjoy and appreciate any comments, reflections or knowledge you may have on the subject of this tsuba:

• mei / gemei?
• design / carving
• or possibly it’s history (if seen before)

 

Best regards

 

Soren

[Vermithrax16]

I like the look of it, but after some comps, seems mei is off a bit. Just my 2 cents.

 

[SteveM]

It looks exactly like this Jōi mei on an auction site. The work and the theme is similar. Neither of these are authenticated. Since I'm no scholar of Jōi, my gut reaction is to be suspicious. Two works by a big artist from the 18th century, with no visible signs of having ever been mounted, and both in unusually pristine condition. It feels very strange to me that such fine pieces should be sitting at retail or at auction sites without any authentication. 

 

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/m1022779785/

 

 

 

But both this and yours look very good. If they are fakes, they look very convincing to me. 

[Ford Hallam]

Ignoring the mei for a moment I'd begin by simply assessing the work alone.

 

The ground is a fairly generic type and actually one of the quickest to apply, so perhaps not chosen for any aesthetic reason but merely efficiency.

 

The kata-kiri work of the tree branch on the reverse is very dull and not at all anything very expressive or even particularly interesting. It feels almost like an afterthought to me.

 

The kata-kiri on the front is similarly uninspiring and the rock and leaves looks very much like those seen on Yokoya work, not Nara school.

The base of the tree, on the other hand looks like it draws its inspiration from Hamano work but is also indistinct and lacks any real presence or boldness that the subject ought to suggest. It's the anchor of the composition yet is a bit messy and poorly defined.

 

The figure is competently carved but is it suggestive of the hand of one of the great masters?

The face is appealing with its gentle expression and there are some pleasing shapes in the hands but as a flat profile image of the head it feels a bit basic, something any properly trained maker of the period would have been capable of. Great masters are so regarded precisely because their work does go beyond merely competent so as to suggest far more feeling and subtlety.

 

To my eye this tsuba is not of sufficient quality to be considered the work of a top ranked artist in this tradition.

 

But this is only my opinion, other eyes may well see things differently.

 

regards

 

Ford

 

 

 

 

[Bazza]

Well, I was going to keep out of this, but I must like the feeling of the block!!  Or is it the dodan!!!

 

Taking Soren's invitation to heart, I've looked at his tsuba a lot and thought about it, tossing and turning it around in my mind to try and do justice to it.  I have looked at a lot of tsuba in my time including some I thought were masterworks, or at the least very, very good.  FWIW, to me it doesn't 'sparkle' and the execution looks 'blocky' to my eye, but that may be just a lack of exposure to the right kind of knowledge and examples in the hand.  Ford's approach is the same advice given about blades - judge the work, not the signature.  Or in other words, the workmanship confirms the signature.  Considering SteveM's expressions, this tsuba purporting to be a masterwork needs to go to Shinsa, but not before much study and thinking long and hard...

 

BaZZa.

[Grevedk]

Gentlemen,

 

Thank you for both the time and the depth of your reply’s. It is truly appreciated with the full acknowledgment that you most likely have stated the same many times before🙏

Jeremiah - 👍on those pictures of authenticated Sugiura Joi mei for comparison. 

 

Steve - You have a strong point. It is probably very unlikely that several, and almost pristine works of a major master craftsman can be found on auction without papers of authentication, and at the same time. Should raise a question or two…🤔

Ford - I value your perspective on the actual craftsmanship (groundwork, carving and design) as you have that explicit knowledge (feeling, seeing and knowing), that is so hard to really comprehend  for a novice, such as myself.  It’s one thing to see and instinctively like a design, drawing or carving, as opposed to fully understand the talents acquired to make that design, drawing or carving. I feel that I have just expanded my own perspective on viewing those parts 😊 

 

BaZZa - I will continue on the long road of study and learning. And I will think hard and long in regard to Shinsa. I have the feeling however that they would just confirm your opinion’s as stated above. 

But - even though the arrow points at “no joy” (Copycat you Ford 😜) I feel I have made a bargain in both tsuba and the acquired knowledge. Thank you.

Best regards

 

Soren

 

[Curran]

On 6/30/2022 at 6:14 AM, Ford Hallam said:

The kata-kiri work of the tree branch on the reverse is very dull and not at all anything very expressive or even particularly interesting. It feels almost like an afterthought to me.
...

To my eye this tsuba is not of sufficient quality to be considered the work of a top ranked artist in this tradition.

 

Thank you Ford. 

As I said to a collector here long ago and became a mantra, "Look at the workmanship, look at the signature, look at the workmanship again".

I started to reply yesterday about how the kata-kiri workmanship was lacking, but decided not to get into it.

 

I'm glad that you replied. It has more weight coming from you.

For anyone interested, the Soyo-Somin book has a little section on paying attention to the katakiri work comparing 2 kozuka of identical design but very different execution.

 

 

[Ford Hallam]

Soren, I appreciate what you wrote ; "I feel I have made a bargain in both tsuba and the acquired knowledge". I think that's the only sensible attitude we can adopt if we really want to delve into this vast subject. It really is an ongoing refining of seeing, feeling and understanding, but it is immensely satisfying :-)

 

And thank you Curran, for your kind appreciation.