Valuable Tsuba??

[PKDA]

I saw this tsuba up for auction on e-bay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280827283927?ss ... 1423.l2648

 

It jumped off the screen at me as being better than the average e-bay listing. Am I right? I am a relative (complete) rookie with tosogu and no nothing about this peice or style. Would anyone here care to provide commentary on this item.

 

Thanks,

Kevin Perry

[cabowen]

Meiji? Looks hot of the press to me......

[Geraint]

And nothing to connect it with Shibayama, strange choice of description.

[Kevin Adams]

I agree with Chris, it looks shinsaku to me.

 

Two things caught my eye though: first, the "swirling" pattern on the plate looks kind of like the patina was applied unevenly (looks like milk when it's first being stirred into coffee ). Secondly, there's a strange rotary texture in the surface of the plate that's quite visible on the angle shots - it looks almost like the marks left by a disc sander on wood. I would expect a more uneven texture on a piece like this. Intentional?

 

Maybe Ford will chime in.

[PKDA]

Thanks Gents. I went back and looked at it a few times and definitely noticed the uneven finish that you mention.

It also seems that the "gold shim" at the base of the nakago ana seems to be more of an applied finish as opposed to a separate material. Okay, so it seems that it is probably a modern piece that may or may not have some actual value. At least I'm learning something. Time to start spending more time reading and less time surfing. Always the case I guess.

 

Thanks again,

Kevin

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Kevin,

This is exactly the style of tsuba that I'd expect a rookie to treasure; I know I would have been drooling way back when.

Spend some time with books that show great work and get to a sword show or 2 to see quality in tsuba, and the more you learn the less you'll like this tsuba.

Grey

[Ford Hallam]

Gents,

 

The Shibayama label is a clue to the odd patterning you can see. It's made of ivory, 'zoge' means ivory :D and those lines are called Schrager lines. My brother, Clive, explains a bit more about them here on our forum.

 

Staining Ivory like this is not particularly difficult. Typically, a warm solution of fabric dye is used.

 

This is not Shibayama though and I reckon I have shoes older then this.

 

Kevin,

 

To help get an idea of what real/decent tsuba look like the MFA on-line collection is a useful resource. All the images are in high resolution and have a 'zoom-in' function to allow closer study. Here's a link to search their collections. Just type in 'tsuba' in the search box and you'll have access to more than 1800 items and all pretty decent examples of their type and some even excellent.

[Tcat]

Having seen this listing before and having not paid much attention to it at the time, I was sure it was made of copper...thanks to Ford for the Schrager lines link.

[PKDA]

Thank you Ford. I followed the link and briefly looked at the BFA collection. Really amazing stuff and a great resource. I appreciate the lead.

I also thought this was made of copper. I almost didn't post this because I thought something was fishy about it. This obviously reinforces the fact that a gathering of the e-bay masses has NO reflection of the value of an item. Oh well, a little more knowledge for my journey. Thanks to all for the comments and information.

 

Kevin

[Ford Hallam]

You're welcome gents glad to be able to offer something of use

[Brian]

Thanks Ford, great info. That one slipped past me. Although he does mention ivori in the description

Anyways, wanted to upload the pics here for future reference after the auction link is dead.

 

Brian

[Mark Green]

It is new, but I think it is nice.

 

I don't really care for the patina. But I like the other parts.

 

I think it would look quite nice with some of Master Ford's crusty copper patina on it.

 

Mark G

[Tcat]

I don't really care for the patina. But I like the other parts.

I think it would look quite nice with some of Master Ford's crusty copper patina on it.

 

Applying a crusty copper patina to this one may be a challenge, even for the master :lol: