metal worker

[John A Stuart]

Hi All, I have just received an excellent fuchi made by Kanenaga. Apparently this is Watanabe Kanenaga a Seki swordsmith that also made tousougu. Has anyone seen his work before? know more about him? Would this, then, be Mino school? I just did some quick scans so you can't see how nice the takanikubori work is or the ko-nanakoji. John

[Ford Hallam]

Hello John,

 

I can't offer anything regarding the apparent maker, however, the design and treatmet is classic Murakami Jochiku, by which I mean the subject matter, treated in this manner ,and the crepe-like texture on the ground. I'm not suggesting this is by the master, but it seems odd to me that such an obvious candidate for the Jochiku school would bear the mei that it does. I'm further concerned by the lack of patina on the tenjo gane, ie, the area where the signature is.

 

just my thoughts,

Ford

[John A Stuart]

Hi Ford, That is scans for you. The tenjogane has the usual old penny look and what looks like crepe is a fine nanakoji. I was going to post some better pics but my camera batts went dead, NiMH type, so it'll be a bit before they are recharged. The workmanship is pretty darn good. I really have a hard time trusting the mei on most of these fellows. John

[John A Stuart]

Hi All, My batteries finally charged. Here are some better views. John

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John,

 

that's much better. How on earth did we survive without digital cameras?

 

A very accomplished piece. Those tiny accents of gold inlayed on the tail are notable, as are the shakudo touches on the wings. Is that inlay on the eyes as well?

 

Can't say I've come accross this particular Kanenaga before. I assume you identified him by his kao. You'd have thought the Mino smiths were too busy to have any sidelines.

 

regards, Ford

[John A Stuart]

Hi Ford, The eye does have the shakudo accent although it does not really portray the faceted look of the compound eye. Maybe to show a reflected highlight. Mustn't get to picky, eh? I have been trying to find a smith that satisfies the criteria within the Mino den, no luck there but Watanabe is not much help. That info was given by the dealer It is fairly fresh (under 200 years I think) so I was focusing on shinshinto smiths. I have a kashira that has the same theme, older and on iron, not as fine though. John