Large iron tsuba. Gold Shishi and silver hare. Opinions welcome.

[Matsunoki]

Hello again from the UK.

Another recent addition as part of a “deal”. Who doesn’t like a good deal🙂🙂?

It came with no attribution and I would welcome all views as usual…..age, school…..anything you think really.

It is beautiful workmanship and the design with the “mist” appeals greatly to me. The very high relief Shishi is done in two colours of gold as is the bush clover. Hare is silver.

The iron has an almost granular sparkle appearance.

It’s quite large - 8.3cm circular 

Thank you for looking. All the best. Colin

[ROKUJURO]

Colin,

very interesting! The rabbit is often depicted with the moon above the waves, but the SHISHI looks to be by a different artist's hand and does not fit into the picture in my opinion. Maybe a later attempt to "improve" the TSUBA? But of course I could be very wrong.

[Matsunoki]

44 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

But of course I could be very wrong.

No Jean, I think you are absolutely right….and I had wondered myself.  If we look at the kogai and kozuka ana in relation to the design it would suggest that the face or front is actually the side with the hare on it. (Kozuka is normally on the back or inward facing side of the sword).

The Shishi is beautiful quality and under high magnification it looks solid gold of two colours……but not made by the same hand as the hare(surely a hare not a rabbit with those ears🙂)

Then of course you ask the question….has the hare been added as well?

The hare or lunar hare (or rabbit) has many magical attributions (the ability to run across water, to disappear, to gaze at the moon etc) but I haven’t seen it sitting in bush clover before. Likewise Shishi usually seen with peony, not bush clover.

So several signposts all pointing in one direction…….what do others think?

Was it simply a bush clover in the mist piece?

(btw I still really like it and I bet it looked impressive on a sword)

Hmmmmmm

[Stephen]

To me the tsuba is the moon...the bars clouds. 

 Feeble opinion 

[Matsunoki]

18 minutes ago, Stephen said:

To me the tsuba is the moon...the bars clouds. 

Stephen, I hadn’t even considered the whole tsuba as the moon. Now I’m scratching my head even more🙂

…….good point!

[Spartancrest]

Gorgeous guard Collin!

I am rather taken with the "Art Deco" style rabbit - https://www.worthpoi...eco-rabbit-162845017

https://www.1stdibs....uerel/id-f_12238303/

https://www.deconami...e-vincent-becquerel/

 

Poor thing would trip over it's own ears or get stuck by a low door! 

    

[Ford Hallam]

Like Jean I was immediately thrown off by the shishi. It seems likely a later addition to jazz the piece up a bit and thereby make the reverse the front.

 

The bush clover, hare and mist composition, especially the form the hare takes, gives me a feeling of Ogata Kōrin's (1658 – 1716) work. I don't mean that this is a copy of his work or something like that merely that his aesthetic seems to be informing the tsuba's design.

For that reason I'd say early Edo (17th century) with  a later shishi addition. 

[Matsunoki]

Once again thanks to all for looking, thinking and commenting. An interesting discussion greatly appreciated.

All the best. Colin