A friends tsuba

[Jim Manley]

A buddy recently acquired this tsuba. I took this one photo and would much appreciate any insights members could offer.

thanks much Jim manley

[Spartancrest]

Sorry to say it is a paperweight souvenir, it might be as old as 1980? - not made in the Muromachi [1336 to 1573]  - a time when they didn't sign tsuba as far as I know.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/186730994595   I do hope your friend did not pay very much. The seller is either ignorant or a conman.

[Okan]

“My friend bought this, and I took a picture of it.”

 

Did you mean, “I found a s**t tsuba on eBay, took a screenshot of it, and am now fooling some idiot forum members so I’ll be the first to buy it in case it’s a treasure?

 

Go ahead, buy it, it's an authentic treasure. 

 

Here is the link:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/365186018162

 

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

If my friend Okan is correct [very likely ] - give that thing a big miss - try this one it is more interesting, genuine and a lot cheaper https://www.ebay.com/itm/296351643175

[Jake6500]

As Dale has already said, you don't find signatures on authentic pre-Edo pieces. Dale's link is also to a reliable seller in Matsukaze, I have purchased things from that seller before.

 

If you're new to tsuba and want assurances, buying from him is a safe bet.

 

In any event, the item you've posted appears quite expensive for a dubious tsuba that may not even have any historical value.

[Steve Waszak]

4 hours ago, Jake6500 said:

you don't find signatures on authentic pre-Edo pieces

Hmmm... Not sure where this idea came from, but it is quite inaccurate.  There are a good handful of pre-Edo tsubako who regularly signed their works.  Among them are the two Nobuiye, the two Kaneiye, the early Yamakichibei smiths, Hoan, Sadahiro, Umetada Myoju, Umetada Mitsutada, and Koike Yoshiro Naomasa.  So, not only were there pre-Edo smiths who regularly signed their tsuba, but each of these artists is generally regarded as one of the very finest tsubako of any era in Japanese history.  This doesn't have much to do with the OP's concerns, but I did want to respond to that statement for educational purposes... 

[Jim Manley]

Okan,  a bit snarky. It was exactly as I said. A friend acquired it, I shot a single photo and asked for any info that could be provided. 
i didn’t buy it, don’t own it and am not selling it. 

[KungFooey]

13 minutes ago, Jim Manley said:

Okan,  a bit snarky. It was exactly as I said. A friend acquired it, I shot a single photo and asked for any info that could be provided. 
i didn’t buy it, don’t own it and am not selling it. 

So your buddy is selling it again? It's still for sale on eBay so I'm a bit confused. 
i'm sure that's what caused the 'snarky' reaction. Everyone here is really helpful.

[Shugyosha]

Hi Jim,

According to the description on the inside of the box lid, I believe the signature is 尼子弘光 Amago Hiromitsu (the signature on the tsuba might use a different form of the "hiro" kanji but it's to small to make out from the photo and blurs when I enlarge it so I've gone from the description which is clearer). The Amago were a Japanese clan and the stamp of four squares appearing on the tsuba and drawn in the description is their mon (coat of arms). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amago_clan

 

He doesn't appear to be a very well known artist as, whilst there are other similar ones on the internet, there's not a huge amount of information about him that I've turned out so that might arouse suspicions, but I've no idea whether the tsuba is genuine or not and you'll have to rely on others for their take on it as I don't have access to research materials beyond Google Sensei.

 

Anyway, I hope that's of some use to you.

 

 

[Okan]

2 hours ago, Jim Manley said:

Okan,  a bit snarky. It was exactly as I said. A friend acquired it, I shot a single photo and asked for any info that could be provided. 
i didn’t buy it, don’t own it and am not selling it. 

 

Can you share the picture please? Cause the one you've shared is a screenshot from the ebay link. 

 

 

[Curran]

On 11/22/2024 at 6:50 PM, Steve Waszak said:

Hmmm... Not sure where this idea came from, but it is quite inaccurate.  There are a good handful of pre-Edo tsubako who regularly signed their works.  Among them are the two Nobuiye, the two Kaneiye, the early Yamakichibei smiths, Hoan, Sadahiro, Umetada Myoju, Umetada Mitsutada, and Koike Yoshiro Naomasa.  So, not only were there pre-Edo smiths who regularly signed their tsuba, but each of these artists is generally regarded as one of the very finest tsubako of any era in Japanese history.  This doesn't have much to do with the OP's concerns, but I did want to respond to that statement for educational purposes... 

 

Glad you said it first. He probably meant pre-Momoyama, and I was trying to remember if I had ever seen anything signed pre-Momoyama that wasn't Ko-Goto.

[Spartancrest]

7 hours ago, KungFooey said:

Everyone here is really helpful.

Not all of us - I am only here to annoy my wife and cause trouble. 

[Jake6500]

On 11/28/2024 at 5:42 AM, Curran said:

 

Glad you said it first. He probably meant pre-Momoyama, and I was trying to remember if I had ever seen anything signed pre-Momoyama that wasn't Ko-Goto.

 

I did, but I was also making a broad generalisation as opposed to a 100% literal statement. Still, I should perhaps pick my words more carefully!