Justin Grant

Ian and Luc, That makes sense. And I'm assuming the crude Fudo bonji and the crude 3 toed dragons are much later additions, because I thought Mongol Dragons had/have 4 toes like the Chinese. Interesting piece.

Thank you so very much. It’s wonderful of you to do this for me.

I have an antique Suzuri Bako and the bottom of the storage case has a name, I believe the first two are Nakamura, but stuck on the other two. Any help is appreciated. And sorry for the picture being sideways. No options to correct on the mobile platform.

Matt- rub talc powder on the area and brush off the surface, leaving what fills the troughs and this may help make it readable.

Piers, I'm a fan of stocks, and would love to have a few. I collect them from the "wood working" aspect.

Thank you. So, it's not a DIY repair. Oh-well. Now I know!

I am curious how the silver and or gold was inlaid inside of the carvings on barrels? Anyone know the process? I have a dragon carved on a barrel that had the last vestiges of silver left in a few speck areas, and wondered who it was applied, so I could contemplate reinstalling. Thanks Justin

South Central Indiana

I'm also willing to help, in addition to Dave. I am in Indiana, and can be of help, if desired. justin@alexander-grant.com is my email. Most of us will face this same situation, where we leave collections of esoteric items that are worth large sums of money, and a spouse that has to figure out how to deal with it.

Like with others, Eric was not shy, or a wilting flower. He could give as much as he would take. He was passionate about open sharing of information. Much like Anthony Bryant, he will be missed, and the many other communities online he visited. He was not isolated to Japanese art and armor, he had a wide and diverse passion. He will be missed by many, and I do hope he has found the peace he so deserved. ゆく河の流れは絶えずして、しかも、もとの水にあらず。淀みに浮かぶうたかたは、かつ消えかつ結びて、久しくとどまりたるためしなし

Click it, it opens up. That photo shows you all you need to assess the level of craftsmanship of the item. The photos were large enough for you to ascribe a rather old and important date to it, so I'd think you can also judge the quality as would be expected for such an item of this period, considering if Samurai, the level of a Samurai that would have used such an instrument. I'm not disputing the age, I am not sure it was for war or a Samurai.

It may be from that jidai, but I'd question the quality of the instrument. This is not the "quality" of craftsman ship for a powerful leader, the components are high end items, but the work is suspect. The insets are all wavy and not a crisp arch or line anywhere. The internal embellishments are not in equal distance to the adjoining component, and the MoP is installed like craft glitter compared to high end devices. It's a neat instrument, but I don't think for a Samurai. Just my opinion, it may be a national treasure.....

Add me to the list of fall-back buyers.

Is this where the "hour of the hare" came from, the dawn, when the stars are not visible, and thus, no rivets?

Luc- This sentence intimates that you are calling Ian a plagiarizer, and this is a very unprofessional thing to do. Maybe it's the translation between the languages, but I wanted to call out that dis-ingeniousness of this statement above. Ian is a scholar, and as any serious scholar and student knows, attribution is provided where known, but at some point, this attribution falls off when the information becomes common belief. At one point, someone kept providing attribution to the person who first promulgated that the earth was round, and not flat. This attribution was appended each time it was discussed, but at some point when it became common belief, they quit attributing the statement to Pythagoras. You'll attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

It’s also important to remember that while brass has been in Japan since the 400’s. It had a different zink content than brass of today. That’s what makes it hard on replacement parts for items like Teppo and armor that had brass pieces, the colors are different in the natural state and the patina will also differ based on the zink.

The general rule for antiques of metal is Silver and Brass are ok to polish, but Copper and Gold should remain with the patina. That being said, it's his, and can do as he pleases. And as for brass or bronze maedate being post Edo, not sure about that blanket statement. I have two that are Mid/Late Edo, and are brass. They may have been guilt, but that has since worn off.

Stephen, would be honored. Ironically, I hear this a lot from my clients soon to be ex-husbands. But they, unlike you, have nefarious intentions that are soon dashed when we meet. It’s rather Funny ????

Grumpy old codger. Seems you too fail to see the humor in mine. Now you know how he felt, most just assumed you made a typo. As you say to other on this site, contribute to the conversation or education, or move on. Roy, keep at it. Don’t focus on the nay sayers. Piers and others are willing to help.

How's the weather Stephen, up in that smug ivory tower?

Roy It should look like this

What it really needs to talc powder brushed into the script to help illuminate it.

Malcom It's a modified Hotta and Takeda deal, the Kuroda Clan also used it. I think it's called a Maru ni Mokkou

I think it's a less precise version of the one on my pea shooter.

Thanks Luc, That makes sense. Like I said, Ignorance plays a large role in my life.