Curious about a stamp in the sekigane

[Jesta]

This is a tsuba that I have had for 40 years. It was given to me and has some sentimental value. I am curious about the stamps in the sekigane. Has anyone seen anything like this in the past? I have not noticed any stamps like this before, so I am not sure if they are very common, and I haven't seen them, or if they are not usually a thing. Any ideas would be welcome.

 

[ROKUJURO]

These TAGANE stamps in the shape of a star or a flower (more likely) are not uncommon and often seen as decoration in filled-in HITSU-ANA on TSUBA. In your case, they were obviously used to expand the copper SEKIGANE to secure it more tightly.

[Jesta]

13 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

These TAGANE stamps in the shape of a star or a flower (more likely) are not uncommon and often seen as decoration in filled-in HITSU-ANA on TSUBA. In your case, they were obviously used to expand the copper SEKIGANE to secure it more tightly.

Thanks for the info. I thought that it might have been used to expand the copper, but I am curious about why it would have been necessary. Would this have been a second fitting and they just didn't want to replace the copper?

[ROKUJURO]

Justyn,

that might well be the case.

[Spartancrest]

  The tagane-ato on your piece are correct. But be aware that even these finer details are often copied even in rather crude fakes. Often the design of the chisel, making the mark, can be a form of signature and can be attributed back to a particular smith or school. It doesn't hurt that a chisel punch mark can also look nice and more interesting compared to a simple dent.

PS. I like the shape of your guard very much.

 

https://www.yesterye...?variant=19139447749  This is an absolute fake guard and not worth 1% of the asking price on this link! 

 

https://www.bonhams....hearly-20th-century/  And large auction houses can still get it wrong with hyper-overvalued prices!

[Jesta]

Thanks Dale. I like it too, but it is pretty worn out. There is probably a signature, but it is too faint to see clearly. 

It was given to me when I was at school by an old friend who collected tsuba as works of art. I think that he probably got this one in a larger lot and was not worried about giving it away. It was my first tsuba and will probably be with me when I buy my last one...

 

I am impressed by the lengths that the forgers will go to in order to make their work believable. 

[SteveM]

3 hours ago, Jesta said:

There is probably a signature, but it is too faint to see clearly. 

 

Looks like 貞廣 (Sadahiro).

[MauroP]

[Jesta]

9 hours ago, SteveM said:

 

Looks like 貞廣 (Sadahiro).

Wow... your eyes are significantly better than mine... Thank you. 

[Jesta]

3 hours ago, MauroP said:

Thank you. The help is much appreciated.