Carved or Applied

[ice-hot]

Hi -- recently acquired Kozuka has led to a few questions I hadn't thought about before. I always thought the images on a Kozuka were carved or imprinted from the backside, but this particular Kozuka seemed to have the Mons applied. The reason I say this is because they are much higher relief than even the edges of the Kozuka. A jeweler friend of mine, whom I showed this to, believes the Kozuka to be gold washed Copper, but the Mons to be brass. The Kogatana that came with this is definately old, but what about the Kozuka, did they do this type of application in Edo or before?

 

Thanks for any help,

 

John A.