Tsuba Period identification help.

[xxlotus8xx]

Greetings.

I am trying to figure out the period/craftsman/any info that this tsuba was made. I think the flower is a lotus but I am not quite sure. Overall it "feels" very old but I am no expert. I did find one exact match from a dealer in Japan but she was not very interested in talking history.

 

Here is the link to the tsuba and Seppa. Seppa has a Mt Fuji engraving?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/451 ... 3e4b_b.jpg

 

If anyone recognizes the styles on the other fittings that would also be helpful.

 

Kashira Pic (Looks like there were gold inlays at some point)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2686/451 ... 652d_b.jpg

 

Kojiri Pic (Snowflakes?)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/451 ... 6bc4_b.jpg

[Pete Klein]

The tsuba looks to fall into the Umetada Tadatsugu school of around 1700. These were produced in numbers. The F/K are, pardon me low end kinko and the seppa I have no idea -- possibly recent? It looks to be poorly cut.

[xxlotus8xx]

Thanks. I did find this just now which states Kamakura Period.

http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/work/2144654500

 

As for the F/K the sword and fittings have been through a lot. It could account for the "bad cuts".

 

This website is actually amazing.

http://www.scholarsresource.com/browse/ ... 5?page=851

[Pete Klein]

Umm... that's Kamakura Bori, not Kamakura Jidai -- it's a school of tsuba makers who carved in the Kamakura 'style'. This tsuba would be at earliest around 1700 and is not Kamakura Bori/School.

[xxlotus8xx]

Go easy. I am a total newbie/novice but fully enjoying the research and learning experience.

:D

[xxlotus8xx]

And yes it fully states in the link that it is Kamakura school. Not period.

My apologies.

[Pete Klein]

http://www.japanartsandcrafts.com/kamakurabori.html (about the Kamakura carving tradition)

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/kamakura.htm (about the Kamakura Tsuba)

 

 

http://www.tohokingdom.com/kaiju/images/kamacuras04.htm (my pet - Kamacuras)

[xxlotus8xx]

Hmmm?? I'm confused....

:?

[Stephen]

Hmmm?? I'm confused....

 

your not the only one, inside tsuba joke?

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Ray,

Your tsuba is likely to date to the 1st half of the Edo period, either that or the 2nd half (hedging my bets). It's a style that was made in great quantities and probably over a long time frame; you see a lot of them at the shows. Not sure which school it would be attributed to.

The fuchi has a mon (family crest) on it, not snowflakes but plant leaves. Once again, this is a common theme on kodogu.

I'm not much of an authority on fittings so maybe someone else can educate both of us. Hopes this helps.

Grey

[xxlotus8xx]

Thanks Grey. So I guess the flower was a common cutout in many schools?

Upon browsing through that link I posted earlier (which was an excellent collection) I did see a lot of simular blossom cutouts in tsubas.

Here is my next challenge though. Since the sword is totally disasembeled I am close to taking out the meuki (which are not menuki) to see what they really are. They appear to be WW2 Japanese military insignias but without seeing them in full it's hard to tell. I can see a cut in the leather wrap on the tsuka where the menuki's were inserted and the wrap sewn tight again. Sooo...would I be hurting anything if I took them out?

Stephen?

[Stephen]

lets see some pix of them

[Soshin]

Greetings.

I am trying to figure out the period/craftsman/any info that this tsuba was made. I think the flower is a lotus but I am not quite sure.

The flower design is of a Japanese plum blossom (Prunus mume) done in a small silhouette open craving. In Japanese this is called kô sukashi (小透). This technique is very common in late Edo period tsuba. The fuchi looks to have a family crest (ka-mon) on it. I hope you find this information helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S. (Soshin)

[Mantis dude]

Just a comment on the family mon, I just finished reading the KTK's last book and there was an interesting article on the themes of tsuba as it mostly related to mon's and how a book on variations of mon's would be quite useful, since there were many slight variations over the ages of mons. The Author showed how some tsuba might be attributable to a specific person based on a the combining of family mons and perhaps the marriage of the 2 families. One of the most simple points was that when a sword is drawn the tsuba would be at a certain angle (different than it just resting in the saya) and you would see the family mon as it is more normally displayed. Overall the article called for a task that would definitely help in id'ing which family mon's and even further potential attribution to specific individuals, as well as, helping to define what the tsuba was truly representing (also would help date a tsuba). Just an off handed comment that just came to mind.

[xxlotus8xx]

JOverall the article called for a task that would definitely help in id'ing which family mon's and even further potential attribution to specific individuals, as well as, helping to define what the tsuba was truly representing (also would help date a tsuba). Just an off handed comment that just came to mind.

Excellent advise. I am finding out that there is a reason for every attribuition and related decrative pieces of Nohonto and Saya .

Where did you read this?

[Mantis dude]

That is exactly what the article was saying! It was an article labeled "The Mon As A Design Element of Tsuba" by Saulius Ploplys in the Kokusai Tosogu Kai 5th International Convention & Exhibition. The KTK is a relatively new organization dedicated to fittings comprised of some prominent collectors from around the world- I just boosted some egos making them prominent. lol. In all seriousness, they produce a catalog of members select sword fittings as well as contain commentary from the owner on why they selected the piece, etc. I have purchased every catalog and I find them nicely done with great photos. I think each member has to sell x amount of catalogs per year. I am pretty sure there are some KTK members on this board who could comment more. I know some of the major sword book dealers carry them. As to your comment, this article appeared at the end of the catalog and the author stated that especially with a mon, there would be no room for artistic interpretation; the basic sentiment being who would they be to change a "Lord's Mon". It was a very interesting read in my opinion backed up with some excellent examples to back up his statements. There... you made me get up, grab the book and cite the exact names. I have no affiliation with the group other than a fan of their catalogs which have run under $100 every year so far, I think they have been something like $50-90 depending on the year. I think I deserve a free catalog next year for this ad...lol. Enjoy!

[xxlotus8xx]

If anyone cares or is interested.

The design on the tsuba is a Akechi clan ka-mon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xxlotus8xx/4517059652/

There is also one on the fuchi.

In this thread it was spoken that these tsubas were quite common but yet I can't find anything similar on the internet. Perhaps someone has a link to a tsuba like this one? It would be nice to know that there is more than one in the world.