Bamboo wheel sukashi tsuba

[yogoro]

Here is sukashi tsuba , wheel-octagonal shape ,round-square mimi .

79x77x6 mm

This tsuba looks like the style of Hayashi or Kamiyoshi with bamboo stems theme.

I am interested in is age, school and artist if possible .

Thank you for your help.

[Ford Hallam]

Hello Mikolaj,

 

The seki gane in the nakago ana and on the edge of the ryo-hitsu look quite good but the way all the inner surfaces are so grainy while all the more easily polished surfaces are so very smooth lead me to believe this is a modern cast copy.

 

Some larger images, in sharper focus, may help to make a better assessment either way.

 

It might be helpful to have a look at these reproductions here, being offered by Fred Lohman. He notes that most are reproductions of antique pieces. Interestingly there is a copy of a Kinai dragon available that is a very similar to one discussed on NMB a short while ago.

Mr Lohman is obviously not trying to deceive anyone with these reproductions but there is no mention of any identifying marks added by him to identify them as repro's. It is worrying that with the dragon example I mentioned the mei is reproduced also. I will say that Mr Lohmans casts are much better than the obvious grainy ones we're getting used to seeing.

 

Ford

[rkg]

Hi,

 

FWIW, the first couple of shots in this web gallery on my website are of a "known good" Matashichi Hayashi in this theme:

 

http://www.rkgphotos.com/new_book_preview.htm

 

I can't recall for sure, but I think maybe the kebori was denser on the inner surfaces - I'd have to unarchive the

original images to see... (as an aside, this was one of the coolest tsuba I've ever shot - in hand its amazing...).

The seppa dai on the piece in question is also different...

 

+1 on Ford's desire to see better images...

 

Best,

 

rkg

(Richard George)

[Ford Hallam]

nothing more?... was it something I said?

[yogoro]

Sorry for my delay . I just returned from short vacations

I put here some pictures .

I'm still not sure is this cast copy or forged tsuba ?

Thank you Ford and Richard for your comments .

[Michael 101]

Hi Mikolaj,

 

Thanks for posting the additional pictures.

 

This design of tsuba was as Richard commented used mainly by the Higo schools, with high quality examples made by the Hayashi and Kamiyoshi masters, such as the one already linked above.

 

I am sorry that I cannot comment if your tsuba is cast or carved without seeing it in the hand but I can confirm that it is not the high quality work of the leading Higo masters as I assume you already understand from comparison with the Link.

 

If carved this tsuba may well have been produced by one of the Tsuboi workers who basically made a living in the late Edo period by copying well known and expensive designs and selling at a reasonable price to Samurai who couldnt afford the original thing. So if not cast and modern then its still an interesting example - but unfortunately not the value of a main school masterpiece.

 

Hope that adds an further area for your research.

 

Kind regards

 

Michael