tampa show

[lbkmd43]

Hi Guys, just got back from the tampa show it was ho hum more dealers including guns but little public involvement Al Bardi did a good job but I guess he cant fight the economy. He also announced a shinsa next year in conjunction with the show. Sure hope it attracts more people . L.Kanarek MD

[Grey Doffin]

Au contraire Pierre. We had lots of action at our table; I don't think the show was ho hum at all. I do agree; Al did a great job.

Grey

[Stephen]

Pix please, always like to see the old guys getting as old as i.

[raven2]

I also attended the show and I have to agree with Grey. I thought there was much more traffic and sellers than in the past couple of years. Got a couple of very nice tsuba and was very pleased with them. Will be posting pics later when I can get time to take some.

[aeguy]

Hi Stephen,

 

Here are some show images for you & the other NMB members. I'd like to pile on with Grey, et al and say I thought this year's show was more lively & better attended than last year. That said, there's always a desire to pull in greater participation from the general public and I believe this will happen given sufficient time & advertising. Mr Bardi has the advertising nailed. Now we have to wait for the, "sufficient time" part.....

[aeguy]

......and here are some more images from Tampa 2011.

[Soshin]

I really enjoyed myself. Thanks so much to the organizer and all of the exhibitors. Wasn't going to purchase anything as it was my first show. My will power broke down on Sunday morning and I purchased a very nice tsuba. :D I will post photographs and discussion later in the tosogu forum. Next year is a must for me with the NTHK shinsa being part of the show.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David Stiles

[ububob]

Andy, thanks for pictures it looiks like folks enjoyed themselves. :D

[Chris Osborne]

I would say the show was anything but "ho hum". As others have said attendance was considerably better than last year and the general mood of the room was very positive and upbeat. I know I had a marvelous time and learned a lot thanks to all the effort many put into it. If I were to name individuals I would certainly leave some out so I will just say a general THANKS to everyone who was involved in making the show so great this year. I see nothing but great things ahead.

[Ted Tenold]

I completely concur that this was the best Tampa show I've ever attended. Uncle Al really picked up the reigns and put the spurs to this show. The energy was great, the moral was high, and the traffic was much better. Several times he announced swords that were walking in the door "for sale", and anyone could have a chance to see them and make an offer. A couple decent swords walked in and were bought.

 

As Andy pointed out, Al busted out a fat stack for the advertising campaign with ads in several gun and antique based publications, local antique circulars, etc.. He put a *lot* of his own money on the line to do this show right and I think it'll pay off as momentum gathers.

 

One of the things I noticed was the number of new folks coming in that were just getting started. THAT is very encouraging to a field that needs a next generation. I was very happy to see this.

 

Big cheer for Uncle Al Bardi! I wouldn't dream of missing it next year.

 

Thanks also to everyone who attended. It was great seeing so many friends and new faces.

[Brian]

So who bought the Daido kinpun mei walk-in, that I had been humming and ha-ing about for weeks? :lol:

I should maybe have grabbed it while the price was good. Seller got tired and took it to the show. Had been posted about here before.

 

Brian

[Ted Tenold]

Yes, I heard from Andy Quirt that it walked in. Not sure who got it actually, but it didn't take long to sell. :lol: I was occupied with something else and didn't get a look at it.

[Tcat]

I want to attend one of these shows so badly, if I lived in the USA I would have already for sure... Perhaps I may get a chance this summer. Really enjoy pictures of these events, the items and the people there. Its great to put names to faces and see some of the remarkable things on offer on the tables. Long may it continue, and please post pics all!

[sanjuro]

Hi.

 

As one who could not attend due to the fact that Australia is so far from anywhere that we are almost in a different galaxy, I have to say that I am disgusted with you all for having a good time without me........ Sigh. Also, why doesn't Pete Klein look anything like the little cartoon character he often uses as an avatar? Double bummer......... :D

 

It seems like Ibkmd43 (I would refer to him by name if he signed his posts) was in a different building to you guys.......

[raven2]

No, he was there but obviously had a different show than the rest of us. Too bad because it was really very good for the majority of attendees.

[lbkmd43]

I knew that by understating the show it would stir up things I guess I did a good job the show was the best one in tampa in many years I really dont know how sales went but who cares camaraderie returned to florida with many new people L.Kanarek MD

[Curran]

I had a look at the Dr.'s Yasumitsu. You really should paper that.

I also saw a nice Toku Hozon Morimitsu with koshirae that was tempting, though I was really tsuba hunting.

 

I regret that by the time I got to the show I think Cyrus had sold the Ishiguro tsuba. Not my main avenue of collecting, but neither really is Goto and he had one of the most impressive sets of Goto shi-shi menuki I have ever seen. Regrettably, way above my pay grade for the moment.

 

I took 5 tsuba. Two cleared out within the first few hours, and 2 of the higher end ones had several people coming back with that strange question "why are you selling?". I never know what is the intent of that one question, but got asked it a few times. I reached my sale goal to fund a koshirae project that has been on hold and part of a recent wedding anniversary purchase, but then I caved and purchased this very large Umetada with Toku Hozon papers. (see photo). Sort of a guilty pleasure for me, as far outside of my main Owariesque focus.

I also found an old friend closer to my Owari focus that resurfaced after years with a new owner, but at that point it had to be trade+cash for his tsuba and owner stuck to his all cash wants. That tsuba and I have been dancing for years. If I ever take it home, it will probably be with me for a decade or two.

 

Show: lots of lower level action Saturday and supposedly a mix with higher end action on Friday, but West Coast crowd and snow country boys all cleared out early on Sunday. Not as many last minute bargainers as I've seen before. Two non Nihonto collectors I had invited from Sarasota showed up Sunday and went home with some paintings that might have been bargain hunting end of show buys.

I took a few photos of tsuba and forwarded them to people I know interested in certain things. Basically trying to helping facilitate things for people who couldn't make it to the show, but I had very little chance to attend the lectures and photography much else. Swords below a certain price point seemed to be moving more than in the recent 4 or 5 years and the table to my right cleared out EVERYTHING except for one out of polish blade. The one sitter there even sold something his partner didn't want sold and he had to go chase it down.

 

The NTHK shinsa next year will be the first one I'm aware of in the South (Texas is a country unto it self and that shinsa was 30+ years ago?). If promoted correctly by Mr. Bardi, it should have many many drive downs from Georgia and surrounding states.

 

Umetada with Tokubetsu Hozon:

[raven2]

Beautiful tsuba, Curran. I can see why you "caved". I also went to the show not expecting to buy anything and ended up with two tsuba, a beautiful dragon rug and an incense holder. I guess I caved more. :D Pictures of a Higo tanto tsuba below. Others to come later.

[Henry Wilson]

Speaking of Pete Klein, did anyone attend his seminar on Nobuie? If so can anyone report on it....

[mdiddy]

I attended Pete’s lecture on Nobuie and found it highly insightful. He started the lecture by spending a good deal of time setting the stage for the arrival of Nobuie by discussing the impact of Sen Rikyu and the tea ceremony on Japanese culture in the 1500s, focusing on the importance of simplicity and subdued design in the transition from a Chinese-based aesthetic to a purely Japanese aesthetic. If I remember right, he cited Nobuie’s mastery of this theme as what made them such a departure point from previous work and a radical brand of tsuba. He also incorporated the influence of Christianity on some designs and the possible influence of Oda Nobunaga on the usage of ‘Nobu’ in their naming convention.

 

He showed and discussed several examples of Nobuie tsuba on his slides, noting key facets like the usage of Ji-mon- the fine surface designs in their background, their method of applying carving without it necessarily being kebori, and how one can rely on the length of the first radical in ‘Nobu’ to differentiate 1st from 2nd generation. He pointed out commonalities in shape, design, theme, etc with their work. He also highlighted rare examples when they departed from their normal style, such as a tsuba that relied on heavy sukashi for depiction of a shrine gate. He also specified his personal favorites including an amida yasuri Nobuie. There were 4 genuine examples for hands-on study as well as one Kaneie example for contrast. Also, there were several texts with pictures on the subject available for reference.

 

I thought his presentation was comprehensive and thorough. It certainly added depth to my understanding of these works.

 

He also had a slide devoted to Fozzie from Sesame Street.

[Curran]

Matt,

 

Nice write-up.

I arrived to the show on Saturday expecting to sit with one person, but couldn't find him. I ended up sitting with 2 friends and watched over their table so the gents could go Mr. Klein's lecture. I wish I could have caught the lecture and seen the examples.

 

Point of kantei: I thought Fozzie was only on the Muppet Show.

[mdiddy]

Curran,

 

You are right. How could I be so daft. Fozzie is of the Muppet school which I would regard as waka, waka, wakamono...

 

Matt

[Curran]

 

I give you 10pts for that one.

Still wish I had made the lecture. I have had very little experience with Kaneiye work.

[Brian]

Curran,

I can certainly see why you bought that tsuba. Absolutely gorgeous!

 

Brian

[Pete Klein]

Thanks so much to Matt for the kind words and to all who attended the talk. It's been over twenty five years since I've done any public speaking so I tried not to be too nervous. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts on the subject and the many wonderful remarks afterward made me feel quite good. Funny thing was the most difficult part of it was learning how to use Power Point and then designing the presentation. About two days of work but next time it will be a breeze.

 

Thanks again ever so much!

 

PS: Fozzy was brought in to reference 'Waka' poetry. Boy, that was a difficult audience... waka, waka - waka!!!

[Soshin]

I really enjoyed both presentation arranged by the NBTHK. The Pete's Nobuie presentation had more of a impact in terms of what I collect as I am more of a Tosogu then a Nihonto person. The chance to handle multiple examples of Nobuie tsuba were also great.

Here is a tsuba I picked up at the Tampa Japanese Sword Show. The previous owner thinks it is a Kyo-Shoami tsuba from the early Edo period. I agree with his judgement. The design is rice balls that makes up a pattern often seen on Edo period cloths and is referred to in Japanese as Shippo which translates as "seven treasures". The seven treasures reference has a Buddhist origin. Here is a link for more informaition about Shippo: http://furoshiki.com/collection/contemporary/shippo-seven-treasures-1.html

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S.

[raven2]

Hi David,

 

I was wondering who got that tsuba. I looked at it more than a few times. I like it very much. Nice pickup.

[Soshin]

Dear Fred D.,

 

Thanks for the nice comment. I wasn't planning to purchase anything until my willpower broke down around Sunday morning at about 10:00 AM. :lol:

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David S.

[raven2]

Sunday 10 AM is just about the best time to buy something. Prices are on the way down at that time.

[Stephen]

Sunday 10 AM is just about the best time to buy something

 

and a few are hung over and dont want to haggle...well back in the day maybe not now. :lol: