New Tsuba Pick up at the Chicago Show

[Soshin]

I picked up this new tsuba at the Chicago show. I purchased it from Boris Markhasin of Tosoguya. The tsuba came with NBTHK Hozon paper attributing this tsuba to be a work of the Hoan school. I learned recently that the tsuba has a mark of the ura side along the right side of the seppa-dai from a Facebook post. Currently I am unsure what the meaning of the mark is. It might be a workshop mark but that is just speculation without conclusive evidence. I have seen another tsuba using the same technique with this similar type of mark before, but having more historical evidence would be nice. Many characteristics of the forged iron plate construction would point to an Owari Provience origin so I can understand the NBTHK call to Hoan. I have read that not all Hoan tsuba were signed especially in terms of the first generation and second-generation work. More photos can be accessed on my website here: Tsuba Otaku | Reflections of a Not So Empty Mind. Here are three images.        

[kissakai]

Mine has a similar feel to it

Hoan
Circa 1650
Acid etched
12 Ken or 12 Kanabu
81 x 80 x 4.7mm

 

 

[Soshin]

Thanks, Grev, your tsuba is similar to my tsuba. The iron and workmanship look identical. The size of the tsuba is smaller at 7.4 cm high by 7.4 cm wide. It is 3.0 mm thick at the rim (mimi 耳). The thickness of the plate increases towards the center (seppa-dai 切羽台). Together they would be a great dai-sho set.  I noticed that there isn't an extra mark on the ura side of the tsuba. What I might be looking at on my tsuba is not a marker's mark, but a collector's or owner's mark. I have another tsuba in my collection from an old Japanese collection that was published as a tsuba oshigata book during the Meiji Period.  All tsuba in the book including my tsuba have a small collector's mark that is a circular red dot of lacquer of the same type at approximately the same place on the omote side of the tsuba.        

 

 

[rkg]

David,

 

Are you talking about the "red dot" pieces?  I am not certain of the age of that collection (I don't  know if its as early as meiji or if its later), but Bruce K. bought all the documentation related to that set a number of years ago off of yahoo!Japan (amazing what shows up there sometimes).  In a momentary fit of weakness, he let me snap images of the pages where a tsuba I have from that collection + the cover off of one of the volumes:

 

 

Maybe somebody out there will recognize the stamps so we might have a clue who put the collection together.

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

[SteveM]

Published by Kankōdō (甘古堂) in November, 1907. 

Kankōdō is the publishing name of Inuzuka Kankō (aka Inuzuka Matabei)

 

百鐔之図　Images of 100 tsuba

[Soshin]

18 hours ago, rkg said:

Are you talking about the "red dot" pieces?

 

Hello Richard,

 

Yes, that is what I was talking about. Here is a link to my website with information about that other tsuba with collector's mark: Tsuba Gallery #6 | Tsuba Otaku. It is the second tsuba from the top of the webpage. I paid Bruce K. for the images of the two pages of that book that have my tsuba. Thanks for the cover image of the tsuba oshigata book. I will add to my collection of information about that tsuba.

 

I would also like to thank Steve M. providing a translation of the book cover, it is helpful.