Looking for crab sukashi tsuba pitures

[Marius]

Sorry for this unusual request, but googling yielded only one result for a kani tsuba (http://www.to-ken.com/tsuba/Legendsands ... ntsuba.htm).

 

I need a few pictures of sukashi tsuba with a crab and possibly leaves of some water plant. I would be grateful for examples of tsuba with attributions, if possible

 

The reason for all this is that I need to pinpoint the school of a certain tsuba. I will post its picture later.

 

Thank you for your help

[Nobody]

Ref. http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/musasi_tousougu/36081482.html

The owner thinks that it is a tsuba of Higo Kamiyoshi school.

[Marius]

Thank you Moriyama-san :-) A lovely Higo tsuba. I love this cute little crab :-)

 

Here is the picture of the kani tsuba in question. Not a great piece, it looks like cast iron to me However, it is most likely based on an original tsuba, and I would appreciate any information about the original design.

 

[Ford Hallam]

I think this fellow is quite charming. It's not really as "rough" as it may first appear. The nunome, for example is quite well done. The very subtle way the ends of the legs trail into the rim is also very skilful and reveals a degree of sophistication.

 

It's not cast and is an Edo period piece in my opinion. As to school/maker....when in doubt say Shoami :D ....but I would need to think about this one really, there are a few possibilities.

 

regards,

 

ford

[Steve Waszak]

Interesting tsubs, Mariusz. I don't think I've seen one quite like this before. I wouldn't be able to locate this piece with confidence in a particular school, but I would agree with Ford: not cast and of the Edo Period (mid-to-late-Edo).

 

Here is an image of the iconic Owari crab tsuba from the Tokyo National Museum. Obviously very different from yours there, but since you asked for crab tsuba...

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Grey Doffin]

A different take on crab sukashi.

Grey

[Marius]

  Ford Hallam said:

I think this fellow is quite charming. It's not really as "rough" as it may first appear. The nunome, for example is quite well done. The very subtle way the ends of the legs trail into the rim is also very skilful and reveals a degree of sophistication.

 

It's not cast and is an Edo period piece in my opinion.

 

Ford,

 

Well, I knew it would end this way Whenever I say "genuine", Ford says "cast", whenever I say "cast", Ford says "genuine". Thanks for the lesson Ford :D

 

Steve,

 

thanks for sharing this stunning Owari tsuba with us I love the composition of the crab, the texture and colour. WOW!

 

Grey,

 

interesting depiction of a crab and a nice tsuba. Thank you :-)

[PietroParis]

Hi All,

 

I am a newbie in this forum and I am not sure it's good etiquette to revive a long-dormant thread. If it isn't, please accept my apologies. I would like to contribute two pictures of a very similar crab tsuba that I saw yesterday in an antiques shop (sorry for the atrocious cellphone pics including the fingers of the shop owner!)

 

 

To my untrained eye, the carving looks somewhat coarser than in Marius' crab. It was described only as "17th century sukashi tsuba", and sold for a quite hefty sum (which, at this stage of my education, I would not have been prepared to pay even if I had really liked the tsuba). Anyway, it was basically the only Japanese item in a shop devoted to Chinese antiques, thus there might be doubts on the reliability of the description...

 

Cheers, Pietro

[Kurikata]

Not sukashi  ! From a french auction house:

 

http://www.thierrydemaigret.com/html/fiche.jsp?id=8432670&np=&lng=fr&npp=150&ordre=&aff=&r=

 

Translation: TSUBA iron decorated with a slight relief of a crab under the moon. L: 8.5 cm (slight oxidation)

Japan, 19th century

[Kurikata]

Another one from another auction house:

 

https://www.boisgirard-antonini.com/lot/93296/9625716

 

Translation is within the page

[ROKUJURO]

Pietro,

a good decision NOT to buy this TSUBA! To me it looks cast from the photo, but has of course to be seen in hand to be sure. The design is not nearly as good as the OWARI sample provided by Steve.  

[Brian]

Pietro, I don't think much of the one you posted, and think you are lucky you avoided it.

[PietroParis]

  On 5/5/2019 at 3:37 PM, ROKUJURO said:

Pietro,

 

a good decision NOT to buy this TSUBA! To me it looks cast from the photo, but has of course to be seen in hand to be sure. The design is not nearly as good as the OWARI sample provided by Steve.  

 

Don't worry, the thought of buying this tsuba - for more than 1000 EUR! - never crossed my mind...

 

I took the pictures because I think it will be useful for my "education" to research any pieces that, for one reason or another, attract my attention. By searching "crab tsuba" in this forum I found the picture posted by Marius, which is exactly the same design but with gilding and (to my eye) a finer carving.

 

Cheers, Pietro

[Ed]

Choshu Tomonobu

[MauroP]

Hi Marius,
two sukashi tsuba with "sasa kani no zu", attribution to Owari and Kamiyoshi respectively:

[PietroParis]

To my totally untrained eye, the first crab in Mauro's post above looks nicer than both the one from Marius' 2010 post (#3 in this thread) and the one I saw yesterday (#8 in this thread).

 

 

Cheers, Pietro

 

[EDIT: added side-by-side pictures]

[Kanenaga]

Shimizu Jingo take on the crab theme.

[Kurikata]

Currently on Aoi art: https://www.aoijapan.com/tsuba-mumei-crab/

[Gunome]

Hello,

 

Here a tsuba that was mine.

I though it was a Kyo shoami.

 

 

[TETSUGENDO]

Another nice Jingo tsuba, 17th C.

-S-

[PietroParis]

Just by chance, I found a website with a description of the very same crab tsuba of Marius' original post, stating that it is a modern copy dated 1991. This thread is old and I do not expect anybody to care about it any longer, but I thought it might be useful for future reference.

 

Cheers, Pietro

[DAY]

I'm a little late on this post just adding this  tsuba of mine for future reference.....The Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell has one very similar..

David

[Spartancrest]

Just sukashi crabs - there are many more on solid plate.

I would say the majority that appear are copies with very few ubu Edo examples.

[roger dundas]

Really glad this post was resurrected just to see the great 'Owari' crab tsuba in the Tokyo National museum put up by Steve Waszak back in 2010 plus another, a Jingo tsuba,C 1600, put up in 2019 by Steven K (Tetsugendo). Great to see for mine.

Roger j 

[GRC]

Resurrected again

ヤフオク! - 鉄地透かし鍔 「四方蟹の図」 (yahoo.co.jp)

[Spartancrest]

They never die!    [and they never get cheaper!]

https://www.jauce.com/auction/k554853441

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/g475813843

[Spartancrest]

Two more to add.  Klefisch Auction house archive.

[GRC]

Just found this gem from Akasaka, Tadashige (signed), in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

[GRC]

and a nice crab on a leaf kinko tsuba:

[Spartancrest]

Glen they are beautiful crab designs - but they are not 'sukashi' style. 

I personally like the Boston designed one with the 'saya-dome-ana' in the hitsu, it doesn't require drilling holes in the plate itself - that is clever.