Opinion on tsuba

[Marius]

A friend of mine has a tsuba shown below.

 

In my opinion the design is quite cramped, but the tsuba seems genuine and perhaps even early Edo/Momoyama. The yakite shitate look is also intriguing, although I cannot see great patina.

 

What do you think about this tsuba?

[jason_mazzy]

I understand what you mean by the plate being a bit crowded. But I quite enjoy the cuttings, and anyone of those would great by themselves on a plate.

[Marius]

I understand what you mean by the plate being a bit crowded. But I quite enjoy the cuttings, and anyone of those would great by themselves on a plate.

 

Jason,

 

I couldn't agree more :-) It seems like we have bamboo here, plus some unknown plant (oak leaves?) and snow flakes.

[jason_mazzy]

definately oak or chinese elm. I am not quite sure about the snow flakes tho. they may be something else.

 

perhaps overlapping flowers?

[Mark Green]

I think those may be holly leaves. I'd go for snowflakes.

[jason_mazzy]

I thought holly leaves for a moment, but figured that the holly would be sharper and pointy.

[Mark Green]

It was just a guess. That 3 leaf holly design seems very common.

Mark

[jason_mazzy]

I agree with you

[Marius]

I agree with you

 

Yes, but the main question remains unanswered. What attribution?

[Henry Wilson]

Any dimensions?

 

Also I am not so sure I would call the finish yakite shitate...

[Marius]

Any dimensions?

 

Also I am not so sure I would call the finish yakite shitate...

 

Henry,

 

I'll post the dimensions later today. I agree that "yakite shitate" is perhaps not the best description. But it has this sligthly "melted" look (as Ford said, yakite shitate has nothing to do with actual melting of the surface), and I would not describe it as marubori sukashi either. But the openwork is not exactly crisp.

 

I haven't had this tsuba in my hands. Based on the awkward composition of the openwork and the state of the patina I would guess that this is a late Edo work by some dilettante or simply some provincial artisan. I would not dare making any attribution.

[Marius]

 

I'll post the dimensions later today.

 

OK, I have got the dimensions: 7.6 x 7.5 x 0.3 cm

 

I am looking forward to hearing your opinions. Many thanks for looking

[Henry Wilson]

Reminds me of this. Which is still for sale

 

http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7167&sid=8cbc3ce6248b8630453e216dbe4a2cfd

[Marius]

Reminds me of this. Which is still for sale

 

http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7167&sid=8cbc3ce6248b8630453e216dbe4a2cfd

 

 

I dare say. Yours is slightly better

 

What puzzles me in my friend's tsuba is this deep hole (see pic). It seems to go through the plate, though I am not sure. Why is it there? Was it used to fasten a soft metal ornament to the plate?

[Marius]

Deleted.

[Marius]

The tsuba is mine now :-) I have bought it in lieu of an expected payment. If you are ineterested, I'll have it next week, I will be able to tell more about it.

 

It has arrived :D

 

Nice patina, almost no red rust. It will spend the next few weeks or months in my pocket as there are still two areas which lack the lustre which is present elsewhere. A tsuba with a katchushi/tosho feeling to it.

 

Steve has said the following about this piece, and I agree with him wholeheartedly:

 

 

a later-Edo period would-be copy of a katchushi-type guard. For the most part, katchushi tsuba disappeared with the coming of the Edo Period, but in the late Edo, there was a bit of a revival of interest in the more ancient forms of tsuba. They enjoyed a vogue for a while there in the 19th century. This tsuba, though, presents several clues toward ruling out a pre-Edo dating. One of these, as you have noted, is the crowded nature of the design. By itself, this doesn't eliminate the possibility of a pre-Edo dating, but for the most part, real katchushi tsuba were more subdued in their sukashi design. Secondly, the motifs employed are rather haphazard in effect, a jumble, if you will. The grace realized in the motifs used by katchushi in the earlier periods is lacking here. A third clue is the size of the tsuba. It is too small to be a true katchushi piece (I don't think it has been cut down to its current size, either: the sukashi placement suggest we are seeing the guard as it was designed), and it is a bit thick, too (katchushi tsuba tend to be around 2mm-3mm in thickness; yours is at the outer range here...). Finally, the surface treatment is not that usually associated with pre-Edo katchushi tsuba