WAVE SCULPTURE

[Tlognaws]

Hello everyone, may i have your opinion on this fuchi? Though that quality of the wave sculpture is quite nice to me. But i'm not sure how it compares to top quality Omori wave sculpture?

 

There are lots of dust stuck inside the holes between waves, so it looks like grainy background there.

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Kurikata]

Hi Tlognaws,

wounderfull Omori school fuchi. Is it signed ?

[Tlognaws]

Mei is Takase Yoshitoshi. I don't know much about this artist, do you have any information about his life and works?

[Spartancrest]

" Takase Yoshitoshi was a talented tsuba maker from the Hitachi Province working as part of the Mito School circa 1800. His pieces can be found in museum collections around the world. See the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, access. no. AK-MAK-1140 for another tsuba signed Takase Yoshitoshi of similar design on loan from the Royal Asian Art Society of the Netherlands. Also, see the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, access. no. 13.2696 for another tsuba by Takase Yoshitoshi featuring crashing waves purchased from Chikami Kiyoomi (1856-1916), former governor of Kagoshima. Cf. R E Haynes, The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists, no.H12191; also see B W Robinson, The Art of the Japanese Sword, p.81, pl.88."

 

He seems to have had a predilection for doing waves as these examples and the fuchi would show.

 

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/13779/tsuba-with-design-of-waves;jsessionid=6BA31578AAD07C41893E94B21D9CADDE

 

 

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, access. no. AK-MAK-1140

 

Also a previous auction with almost the same design as that in the Rijksmuseum. 

https://www.lotsearch.net/lot/an-impressive-Japanese-shakudo-takase-yoshitoshi-tsuba-54045298

[1kinko]

Finer than any Omori waves I’ve ever seen.

[kissakai]

Ditto Darrel

 

[Franco]

10 hours ago, Tlognaws said:

how it compares to top quality Omori wave sculpture?

 

B level compared to Teruhide's best work. 

[Tlognaws]

10 hours ago, Franco D said:

 

B level compared to Teruhide's best work. 

Could you share some of them for reference? 

[Kurikata]

Should you like waves: https://tosogu-antiques.com/waves-2-2/

[1kinko]

Standard excellent Omori Terihide, but B level compared to Tlognaws Takasi Yoshitoshi fuchi.

[Tlognaws]

1 hour ago, 1kinko said:

Standard excellent Omori Terihide, but B level compared to Tlognaws Takasi Yoshitoshi fuchi.

Thanks for your opinion. Here is different angle in better lighting.

[rematron]

Wow.  There's actually space beneath the curls?  That's beautiful.  Good acquisition. 

 

(Great photos BTW)

[Tlognaws]

29 minutes ago, rematron said:

Wow.  There's actually space beneath the curls?  That's beautiful.  Good acquisition. 

 

(Great photos BTW)

Yes, the waves look like they fly out of the surface. Quite impressive when i first keep it in hand. 

 

Below is a quick comparison with a best fuchi by Teruhide that i can find. Each has its own unique visual with same motif.

 

The Takase is more slender and sophisticated compares to the more powerful and outstanding Teruhide.

[rematron]

I prefer yours.  It's more true to nature with being able to see the tunnel behind the break.  One could potentially but a tiny carved surfer in there! 

[Franco]

20 hours ago, Tlognaws said:

Could you share some of them for reference? 

 

 

 

First,  ..... https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/search/?q=omori teruhide&quick=1 

 

Them?

 

While having seen a significant number of Omori Teruhide's wave work (papered), I have only seen less than a handful of Omori Teruhide's  top level (custom-special order ???, anyway, that would be my guess) wave work.  More out there?

One example can be found in a Special Exhibition catalogue from the Tokyo Museum of the best fittings in Japan of which unfortunately I only have a photo copy of .... 

 

 

A very similar f/k set to the one in the special exhibition catalogue imaged above appeared at a sword club event a number of years ago. What I can describe is that the waves were all breaking in coordination/unison with each other, smooth, not wriggly, very well defined, and each wave down to the tiniest was undercut. Even the waves overlapping each other were almost fully undercut and polished. The under-carvings of the waves were multi level giving a 3D depth and swirling effect. It is difficult to imagine how much work went into making such a piece. Notable were the waves that were carefully crafted so that there was virtually no chance of being hooked or caught on a garment. The material was a rich shibuichi, not shakudo. Although, most viewers initially thought this set was shakudo. Below is a partial image of the kashira (grateful to the owner for permission), which will, hopefully, give viewers some impression of the intricacies of this work. This work was simply on another level than the majority of wave work seen. Keep in mind that this image is somewhere between 2 to 3 times larger than the actual size. 

 

 

 

 

Regards,