High value tsuba

[kissakai]

I didn't want to hijack a previous post but I was curious about high end tsuba

 

I think it is a Yamagane tsuba by Hirata Hikozo  with an odawara fukurin and design of Namako (Sea Cucumber)

This one for sale at PRICE: $48,500.00 https://nihonto.com/8-8-19-2/ different sukashi design but same maker or school.

 

I see it has Jyo papers

Does anyone know of higher priced tsuba

[Curran]

Yes. There are many higher priced tsuba.

Some get into the 6 figures rather easy.

[Kurikata]

One year ago, this topic was also discussed in this thread:

 

[kissakai]

Thanks for the earlier link

What I was looking for was actual tsuba high auction prices that have actually been sold

 

[DirkO]

Ida Koendo has a daisho pair up for sale at 22,000,000 yen - roughly 170K USD.
The below one, I'm sure, sold.

[terminus]

This Ishiguro tsuba went for $60k in 2005 on Christies. It's likely far more now, especially if it got it's Juyo certification.
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4461929

This Juyo Goto Ichijo set from the same site would also be a lot more than $49k. https://nihonto.com/fw00080/

Tsubas from Kano Natsuo, Nara Toshinaga and Yasuchika are regularly in the six figures. 

[Curran]

Yes.

And not all works by a smith are created equal.

Some of the most valuable shodai Shimizu (Jingo line) clock in above $100,000 - yet most of his non Juyo are in the $15`,000 or less category.

 

The supply of these > $100,000 tsuba tends to be so limited that they almost always change hands privately.

I never liked the idea that you needed connections and introductions to get access to such things, but that is how it works.

 

Supply of Juyo level fittings is so much lower than Juyo level swords.

 

[1kinko]

OK, so I kinda understand the price of the  Ishiguro tsuba because of the exquisite craftsmanship, but are the others shown here Jūyō because of the signatures? Even the shown Ichijō tsuba could have been made by many other artisans and the Matashichi tsuba looks like a beginners piece. You may have guessed that I’m not a great fan of most iron “warrior” tsuba either.

[Steve Waszak]

Historical and cultural importance play large roles here.  Matashichi was a top-level smith who made tsuba for Hosokawa Sansai.  That alone is HUGE.  It is said that the Shodai Nobuiye, as well as Yamasaka Kichibei, worked for Oda Nobunaga.  These kinds of associations carry enormous cachet.  It gives a level of relevance to the importance of the smith historically and culturally that 19th-century smiths can't really match.  

 

Then there is the matter of aesthetic sensibilities.  For many Westerners, aesthetic principles such as yuugen, shibusa, sabi, mono no aware, wabi, etc... are elusive and cannot be (fully) appreciated.  Such aesthetic values are often seen by Japanese connoisseurs as much more effectively embodied in and expressed by "simple iron" tsuba than in and by the flashy, bling-y, soft-metal Edo-kinko that appeals to the great majority of Westerners.  A fairly direct analogy may be seen in ceramics, where a 19th-century Imari-ware piece will "obviously" be "superior" to a "simple," misshapen, distorted, incompletely-glazed 16th-century tea bowl, yet the Imari-ware work might sell for $2,000, while the "amateurish" Momoyama tea bowl sells for $100,000.  

 

The combination of these values -- historical and cultural importance along with aesthetic sensibilities and taste -- may be linked with provenance to best explain the very high prices realized by what are seen as top-level pieces.  As often as not, it is the "simple" works, whether in iron tsuba or in Tea ceramics, that command the loftiest figures of all.  

[kissakai]

Steve, that is an insightful reply - thanks

[1kinko]

Well stated. Thank you.

[Soshin]

On 1/31/2023 at 2:33 PM, Steve Waszak said:

Historical and cultural importance play large roles here.  Matashichi was a top-level smith who made tsuba for Hosokawa Sansai.  That alone is HUGE.  It is said that the Shodai Nobuiye, as well as Yamasaka Kichibei, worked for Oda Nobunaga.  These kinds of associations carry enormous cachet.  It gives a level of relevance to the importance of the smith historically and culturally that 19th-century smiths can't really match.  

 

Then there is the matter of aesthetic sensibilities.  For many Westerners, aesthetic principles such as yuugen, shibusa, sabi, mono no aware, wabi, etc... are elusive and cannot be (fully) appreciated.  Such aesthetic values are often seen by Japanese connoisseurs as much more effectively embodied in and expressed by "simple iron" tsuba than in and by the flashy, bling-y, soft-metal Edo-kinko that appeals to the great majority of Westerners.  A fairly direct analogy may be seen in ceramics, where a 19th-century Imari-ware piece will "obviously" be "superior" to a "simple," misshapen, distorted, incompletely-glazed 16th-century tea bowl, yet the Imari-ware work might sell for $2,000, while the "amateurish" Momoyama tea bowl sells for $100,000.  

 

The combination of these values -- historical and cultural importance along with aesthetic sensibilities and taste -- may be linked with provenance to best explain the very high prices realized by what are seen as top-level pieces.  As often as not, it is the "simple" works, whether in iron tsuba or in Tea ceramics, that command the loftiest figures of all.  

 

Great reply and well stated Steve Waszak, I could not have stated better myself. I am a huge fan of Hirata Hikozo work and the Hirata School in general and the link tsuba in Grev's original post is worth every cent in my opinion. I wrote an article a few years ago that was published and later republished again in the JSSUS Journal. Here is a direct link to the 11-page article from my website: Early History of the Hirata School of Higo Province. 

[Curran]

Some nice comments so far.

A recent example:   https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m1080865027

 

Very important name and signature.

The aesthetics of this particular tsuba don't do much for me, though some of his other works do.

That signature is a big part of the context of the value.

 

[vajo]

Can't see it Curran.

Could you copy and paste the pictures here?

[Curran]

Umetada Myoju tsuba.

1.68 M yen

 

An artist of significant skill, but also great cultural relevance and influence. To put it one way, he was a great experimenter with artwork at a pivotal time in Japanese history.

   Given that this one is only TH and 1.68M, imagine what price his many Juyo tsuba fetch.

  I wouldn't call this one a masterpiece, but that authentic signature is worth a large amount.

  Tea aesthetic, but not my cup of tea.

 

It seems relative to this thread. If unsigned and mistaken for a ko-kinko, it would fetch significantly less.

[vajo]

Curran, Piers made some nice shots of Bizen Osafune Koshirae with a Tsuba that looks like the style of the Myoju Tsuba you post.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Doesn't do a thing for me, either, Curran. Eye of the beholder, & all that.

[Soshin]

On 2/7/2023 at 6:51 AM, Curran said:

Umetada Myoju tsuba.

1.68 M yen

 

An artist of significant skill, but also great cultural relevance and influence. To put it one way, he was a great experimenter with artwork at a pivotal time in Japanese history.

   Given that this one is only TH and 1.68M, imagine what price his many Juyo tsuba fetch.

  I wouldn't call this one a masterpiece, but that authentic signature is worth a large amount.

  Tea aesthetic, but not my cup of tea.

 

It seems relative to this thread. If unsigned and mistaken for a ko-kinko, it would fetch significantly less.

 

Thanks for sharing, Curren such a wonderful and expensive tsuba. This tsuba is worth every yen. This is another great tsuba that is far beyond my means. I love the aesthetics of Umetada School. I have two Hozon level tsuba works by the school one is in forged iron (tetsu 鉄) and the other in copper-gold alloy (shakudō 赤銅).