Large Tembo tsuba?

[Matsunoki]

Hello again from a cold and damp UK. If any of you out there are in any of the “heat zones” I hope you are safe and OK. 

I’m not really sure why this one appealed to me but I was intrigued by the rather “brutal” appearance of this large (armourers?) katana tsuba which I think could be from the Tembo school?

There are incomplete traces of hot stamps amongst the other heavily impressed elements.

Any views or comments?    

What age?

What do the irregular deep impressions represent? 
Many thanks and all the best.

Colin

 

[Grevedk]

Good evening Colin,

 

Fully understand your attraction to that tempo school tsuba. Beautifully yakite finish (heat treatment). Very forceful appearance and very nice “stamp” work. No idea what impression the artist wanted to install in our minds as onlookers or the age - but I believe I can see both the head of a dragon and some clouds 😜👍 

 

All the best

 

Soren

[FlorianB]

Not sure about it, but it looks like former inlays have fallen out - or never set in...

 

Best, Florian

[Matsunoki]

14 hours ago, Grevedk said:

but I believe I can see both the head of a dragon and some clouds 😜👍 

 

You know Soren, I think you might be right. It does give the impression of a dragon writhing through the plate from front to back which is a very common theme. Just never seen it done like this.

 

3 hours ago, FlorianB said:

Not sure about it, but it looks like former inlays have fallen out - or never set in...

Florian, thanks for looking, an interesting theory but this has definitely never had inlay in it nor is it how you prepare a metal plate for inlay. The “impressions” are far too deep and with sides that slope inwards with smooth rounded interiors and bases…..no undercutting etc. It would fall straight out. 

[rematron]

Colin, my non-expert opinion is that I really like it.  It's a strong piece that invigorates one's imagination and it has a feeling of movement, which I'm assuming is even more apparent in hand. 

[Matsunoki]

1 hour ago, rematron said:

Colin, my non-expert opinion is that I really like it. 

Hi Jeremy, that is also my non expert opinion!🙂. I know it isn’t an important or valuable tsuba but I find it interesting and a bit different. I still can’t find a similar combination of “hot stamps” and those deeply impressed designs. Thanks for looking. All the best. Colin.

PS perhaps @Spartancrest can put us out of our misery? (Sorry Dale)

[Spartancrest]

Some similar pieces the depth of the depressions varies, the thing that stands out to me is the hammered raised rims just like Colin's example.

https://www.agsa.sa....ind-gold-huge/36461/

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/20474-mei-identification-on-a-tembo-tsuba/

https://japaneseswor...o-school-tsuba-1700s

[Matsunoki]

@Spartancrest Thanks yet again Dale. I really had tried to find some similar! …. With the usual predictable lack of success.

 

What I find interesting about this style of tsuba (and a Myochin one I’ll post) is the stark contrast between the obvious impression of “uncompromising strength” that this one conveys compared to the delicate poetic elegance and whimsicality of many sukashi pieces. I guess it reflects the character of the Samurai that wears them.

 

btw…..I think I have acquired a few of your books in my search for knowledge…..”Early articles for tsuba study” , “Tsuba collecting for beginners” and “19thC collections”. Greatly enjoying them.

Thanks again. C.

[Spartancrest]

17 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

“Tsuba collecting for the beginner”

This is somewhat dated now and needs a bit of work - I have done something in the order of 67 books now, most just for my own references as a way to store Museum collections etc. Some books were available to print for sale as they were not infringing on any copyrights - A number of Museums guard their information and images. [exactly why, is sometimes beyond me as the same information and images are easily obtained on-line?]

Available Museum books are: " Tsuba in the Cleveland Museum of Art"
"Public Domain Tsuba in the Metropolitan Museum of Art" Vol.1 & 2
"The Walters Art Museum Collection of Tsuba" Volume 1 & 2
"Tsuba in the Rijksmuseum: 1 TWO 1"

My books are "Print on demand" and in order to cut costs the print quality is not as high as I would like but "photo" quality printing would be prohibitive, approximately doubling the price [which is not set by me!] - anyone with "Rich taste" can contact me for "photo quality" editions - I know I can't afford them!

 

Some of my books like "Early Articles for Tsuba study  1880 - 1923" [The enlarged version is the better of the two options in my opinion] & "Additional Early Articles For Tsuba Study" are a way of collating a large number of "Lost" information into one source. Other books like the "The Tadamasa Hayashi Tsuba Collection" and "Japanese Sword Guards, decoration and ornament in the collection of Georg Oeder of Dusseldorf 1916" are foreign language books no longer in print that I have translated into English. https://tsubakansho....-of-dusseldorf-1916/

 

Figure this one out - https://www.amazon.c...356-7331522-2854042? 

Amazon can sell a hardcover edition of a book for almost half the price of a softcover and at a price I can't get from my own publisher!  [my price from Blurb is AUD $37.05 + Shipping!] Where is the hair pulling out emoji?

 

[Matsunoki]

1 hour ago, Spartancrest said:

I have done something in the order of 67 books now

Blimey Dale, no wonder you are the living encyclopaedia on tsuba and where to find them! How long have you been “at it”?……I’m guessing a lifetimes work. That’s some serious dedication. 
I’m very late to the subject (Meiji metalwork, netsuke and cloisonné were my main Japanese interests) but I’ll add my thanks to what I am sure is a long list of grateful collectors.

Best. Colin

 

[Spartancrest]

1 hour ago, Matsunoki said:

How long have you been “at it”?

Well not as long as you might think - my first book was in 2014 but I had a very small collection of tsuba starting back in the mid eighties [6 tsuba] - I didn't hit the internet sites till about 2010 which increased my collection "substantially" and had the same effect in reverse on my wallet! 

[Matsunoki]

1 hour ago, Spartancrest said:

Well not as long as you might think

Even more amazing achievements given that timescale.

[Spartancrest]

Hi Colin, this one might be added to show deep crevasses and some hot stamping [difficult to see but it is there]   https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1019073509  or  https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/t1019073509

I don't have enough data left to post the image.

 

It looks like the same guard has just been listed on ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/126040674268  at something of a markup in price.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Spartancrest
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