Unusual Tsuba

[ottou812]

I've posted in the mokume thread, but I thought it's better to start a new thread about this tsuba.

 

Chris said that the mei was Tsuguhira, but to my eyes it doesn't look like Tsuguhira (by comparing to the Tsuguhira mei posted in another thread).

 

Anyways, tsuba was purchased from Todd (fellow board member) and recently had patina work done by Patrick Hastings (thanks to Ford's referral).

 

Looks like a mokume but pattern could be carved. I haven't seen a tsuba like this before. I was curious as how seppas would be used with this tsuba or even how a sword could be mounted due to the uneveness.

[cspage]

James, while I've absolutely no experience with this sort of thing, I figured that the logical solution would be custom made seppa, rather thick and fitted to the peaks and valleys of the tsuba, as very poorly illustrated in this sketch I just scratched. Perhaps a more learned member will have a better, legitimate answer.

 

Colin

[docliss]

I am an admirer of James’ tsuba. Late Edo work, surely, in a lovely, rich hiirodo. The second kanji is indeed HIRA, as Chris states, but I am less convinced by his TSUGU reading of the first kanji, which is very unclear. And, surely, this is not swordsmith’s work, as he suggests.

 

I agree that to mount this tsuba, with seppa, would not be easy, although Colin’s suggestion is a possibility. In fact, the tsuba shows no indication of ever having been mounted - this would be very apparent since the peaks of the seppa-dai would be very prone to wear.

 

As a final thought, can one create a true mokume surface on a soft metal alloy? I suspect that, in this instance, the surface has been carved, but would value Ford’s comments on this.

 

John L.

[Ed]

This tsuba appears to be mokume, not carved to my eye.

Generally, in carved examples the lines are much more prominent or exposed.

 

Looks like tsuguhira to me, 継 平.

 

Seppa - no clue, but looks like regular seppa would work resting flat against the high points.

 

I have one shaped like this as well as two other mokume tsuba, all by Tsuguhide.

[cabowen]

I'm pretty sure it is indeed Tsuguhira..

 

 

継平

 

 

Here's the mei of the sandai Fujita Tsuguhira for comparison:

 

On page 293 of the book Tsuba no Bi (Kashima, Hayashi and Matsunaga) there is a tosho tsuba signed "Omi no Kami Tsuguhira"...

 

Hard to read but this is a kanteisho for a tosho tsuba made by Fujita Tsuguhira...

 

So I think it is quite possible indeed that this was made by the tosho Fujita Tsuguhira....