Athanasios Koumantos Posted March 16 Report Posted March 16 This is a mumei katana I recently won at an auction, supposedly attributed to Yasutsugu 2nd generation. Tried to scan it, but unfortunately the board does not allow large jpeg files. Here it is from a hosting site Your thoughts? Quote
Athanasios Koumantos Posted March 18 Author Report Posted March 18 Judging from the lack of answers, I guess I did not post enough material. Here are some documents from the auction house. Does anyone have any comment? Lot_503_2025-01-23_17-48.pdf Quote
Lewis B Posted March 18 Report Posted March 18 What exactly do you want to know? An invoice confirms nothing. Does it have official papers from a body like the NBTHK or NTHK to provide an attribution? If you want us to comment on the blade itself we need to see high res closeup photos of the jihada, hamon, kissaki and nagaso. The fukure mentioned in the auction listing is a concern. Sometimes these can be fatal for the blade depending the location, depth and extent. Can you post an image of that? Quote
Athanasios Koumantos Posted March 18 Author Report Posted March 18 I am not claiming any attribution, just showing what documents it came with. As for closeups, I attached an 1200 dpi scan of it on the initial post, what else is there to show? Quote
Rivkin Posted March 19 Report Posted March 19 Good pictures of activity taken with dedication to showing the activity would be helpful. Otherwise: 1. EUR 20,000 for o-suriage Yasutsugu-2 is crazy money by about a factor of 5. Effectively its a price of very good signed example. Unfortunately France is its own world in everything scientific and cultural so anything is possible. 2. Shinto can be difficult to kantei and I personally seldom kantei shinto. 3. Broad suguha-notare with nie hotsure is indeed something Yasutsugu well known for. If its second generation the jigane should stand out. Quote
reinhard Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 The estimated price is way too high. Reminds me of past days in the 80ties and 90ties, but this golden age for dealers is over. Shinto-To should have its mei at least partially. O-suriage is a no-go. reinhard 1 Quote
George KN Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 I like it! I can't comment on the price since I only buy <£1k, but it looks like a very healthy blade. 72cm nagasa, so I imagine it's also rather impressive in person too, even if it was once even larger. With regards to it being mumei - I'd personally always prefer mumei to gimei - the papers can always be sorted out later without additional risk (unless you really believe it should be attributed to a specific smith). This might be my inexperience talking, but could this one be even older than Shinto? The patina on the very end of the nakago seems pretty strong to me. Quote
Lewis B Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 8 minutes ago, George KN said: could this one be even older than Shinto? The patina on the very end of the nakago seems pretty strong to me. You might have a point. The blade should go to Shinsa. I wouldn't be surprised if it papered earlier. Quote
Athanasios Koumantos Posted March 20 Author Report Posted March 20 Thank you everyone for your thoughts, I will try to take better photos of the jigane. Luckily I did not pay the amount mentioned in the 1990s invoice, more like a sixth of that... It is indeed an impressive and heavy blade, unfortunately I cannot risk sending it outside the country to shinsa, as shipping back to Greece would be a nightmare (I understand there are no shinsa in Europe). Quote
Lewis B Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 19 minutes ago, Athanasios Koumantos said: (I understand there are no shinsa in Europe). Actually you would have a great opportunity to get an informal Shinsa assessment at the upcoming Japan Art Expo in Utrecht in June. Several experts will be on hand to give their opinions. This will be the first time such an opportunity has been offered at the Show. The 3 day event is also a great way for anyone, both new and experienced, to gain more knowledge about Nihonto and Katchu. Even the dealers have brought their personal blades to the event to have Daisuke Hataya give an opinion. Alternatively there are ways to get your blade to Japan without the usual shipping and import/export hassles by using an EU based intermediary. PM me if you want more info. Quote
Athanasios Koumantos Posted March 20 Author Report Posted March 20 Here are some more closeups, though I do not think they show more than the scan. Very tight jigane. Quote
Tohagi Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 Really a beautifull blade, I think it could be earlier than shinto to... I did find the fukure, where is it ? Quote
Rivkin Posted March 20 Report Posted March 20 Most likely it is shinto, from 1650-1665 judging by sugata - it maybe not 100% kambun but getting there, there is also characteristic widening in the lower half which is also borderline Kambun-like. Wide nie hamon in notare can be in theory Yukimitsu but since it is not even close, shinto, not too many other options. Problem the style was not exclusive to Yasutsugu. Generally the blade can be a good match, but I would check the jigane - it should really stand out even with light completely to the side, and Yasutsugu nie tends to be high quality, nice sandy kinsuji in places. My other suspicion is it can be an early work by the third generation. More precisely is impossible to tell without many high quality photos. 1 Quote
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