Tiger/Tora Tsuba appraisal

[JeffT]

Hi all! Greetings to you from North Carolina, USA.

 

I recently purchased this tiger/tora tsuba from a dealer located in Japan. This is the 1st actual antique piece of Japanese sword furniture I own, and I like its theme, weight, and feel very much.

 

That said, I realize it would have been more prudent to ask such questions of the board before purchasing an item rather than afterwards; however, I only discovered the board in the last few days, so bear with me.

 

The relevant question I humbly submit for your consideration is what are your valued opinions on the authenticity and value of this tsuba based on the attached images?

 

It is signed SOHUEISHI - NYUDO SOTEN SEI - KOSHU HIKONE JU - KITAGAWA of the SOTEN school & is attributed to the early EDO period (17th c).

 

 

Thank you for your kind assistance in this.

 

Best wishes,

~ Jeff

[Surfson]

Jeff, it's an attractive tsuba, and you should be able to enjoy it for some time. I would think that many would have studied the mei closely to be sure about authenticity before making this purchase, since it is signed by a very well known maker. There are several book sets that enable one to do this. The kinko meikan is a commonly used reference to study mei inscriptions on tsuba. It takes a while to get the hang of translating kanji, and Grey Doffin's flash cards can help with this. The answer to your question all depends on price, of course, and often quite nice tsuba can be had with a gimei as long as the seller acknowledges this and it is priced accordingly. I assume that it doesn't come with papers.

[JeffT]

Surfson ~

 

Thank you for the compliment on it. My primary concern was the attractiveness of the tsuba, so thoughts of papers came afterwards. You are correct in your assumption that it does not come with papers.

 

I recognized the maker's name having heard it before, which made me feel somewhat more confident of it's authenticity. However, my ability to translate Japanese kanji first hand is admittedly rudimentary.

 

I recently purchased a book on tsuba by Gary Murtha and am learning to navigate its contents, and I appreciate your pointing me towards the available identification sources.

 

I also realize the philosophy around these pieces of art is to read a lot 1st, then make a purchase after. I liked the tusba enough that I wanted to buy it regardless, though this may seem impulsive to many here.

 

This is certainly not the first time in my life I find the cart is leading the horse, so to speak :lol:

 

Best wishes,

~ Jeff

[JeffT]

Here is the relevant information for this item:

 

Description:

 

Form:MARU GATA a circular TSUBA form.

Size: 77 x 76mm

Material: Iron

Weight: 115g

Epoch: Early EDO period. 17th Century

Condition: Overall condition is excellent.

Signature: SOHUEISHI - NYUDO SOTEN SEI - KOSHU HIKONE JU - KITAGAWA

School: SOTEN school

 

Theme:The design TAKE NI TORA, a tiger writhing amongst bamboo talks is depicted head to tail on the top of the SEPPA DAI area. The reverse decorated with rock, a waterfall, a stream and part of the tiger’s body.

Technique:The rich brown plate is deeply pierced and delicately carved almost in the round in MARUBORI, applied in gold NUNOME, while the sky behind is in SUKASHI work, and tiger's eye is inlaid in gold. Much of the web carving is higher than the rim or the SEPPAI DAI.

 

Comments: The representation of a tiger with bamboo is one of the most frequent in Japanese arts. The canes of bamboo represent the essential force and flexibility in the discipline of BUDO, while the tiger is considered the animal of greatest strength in heaven and on earth. The TORA symbolizes courage and physical strength and is emblematic of a safe return from a perilous undertaking.

 

This style of TSUBA and the term “MARUBORI” (carving in the round) were taken up by KITAGAWA SOTEN of HIKONE in the province of OMI. He worked during the second half of the 17th century and his work is most commonly in iron, encrusted in gold or copper, with the details of patterns on garments and landscapes richly overlaid in gold.

[Surfson]

A previous (short) thread:

http://www.nihontomessageboard.com/nmb/ ... f=2&t=5796

There are plenty of Soten tsuba on the web.

http://www.nihonto.us/SOTEN%20IRON%20SU ... 0TSUBA.htm

[docliss]

The Sōten school has previously been discussed at length on this NMB on a number of occasions, and these threads should be readily available for reference, but Jeff’s example is interesting for a number of reasons:

• The marubori leaves a large area of openwork, while most generic tsuba of this group are much more solid-plate in nature.

• The theme is unusual for tsuba of this group, which commonly feature multiple figures engaged in scenes from the wars of the Gempei.

• Although some of the soft-metal decoration has clearly been lost, this is very sparing, lacking the profuse gold and silver embellishment that is commonly present.

• The ‘shi’ kanji of Sōheishi is rendered in the appropriate manner, with the first stroke lozenge-shaped rather than horizontal.

These features may be an indication either of early Sōten work or of non-generic, marubori work that has had a later signature added.

 

The vast numbers of Hikone-bori tsuba include work by the many students of the school, all of whom signed with the Sōten name; that of the Hiragiya school in Kyōto; shiiremono by the Aizu Shōami school; and the excellent work of some Nomura artists. It is my personal conviction that, for numerical reasons, a study of the mei of this group is of little help in assigning an origin to these tsuba, and that one must simply judge them by the quality of the work. In this respect, although rather the worse for wear, Jeff’s certainly gets a ‘pass’.

 

Regards, John L.

[Brian]

Well said John.

It's a decent looking tsuba, well done. I would always consider these gimei unless they come with papers, so you have to go by the work itself and not the signature. In this case, the work looks good and certainly an unusual theme and style for Soten tsuba.

May be worth sending for shinsa oneday to settle the question, but it can be enjoyed without origami of course.

 

Brian

[JeffT]

Hi all! As stated before, I bought this tsuba mainly because I really liked the tiger theme and unusual design of it.

 

My original thought was a tsuba with papers would cost more, and so this un-papered item seemed authentic to my eyes and more affordable to my wallet than the $1000 tsubas I see for sale with paperwork. I may indeed send it for shinsa at some point in the future, but for now certainly am happy with it :D

 

One thing that may not be obvious in the pictures is the gold nunome work resembles little bamboo leaves falling everywhere, sort of like snow flakes. I notice these are much more striking in person than comes through in the photos you all can see.

 

Glad it is an interesting piece for you all to look at & I appreciate the time everyone has taken to explain some of it's interesting points.

 

Best wishes,

~ Jeff