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BMarkhasin

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Everything posted by BMarkhasin

  1. Hi Everyone, Just wanted to post a brief note that recently a number of items on http://www.tosoguya.com have been reduced in price at the request of consigners. If you are in the market looking, this might be a good opportunity to access some quality items at very competitive prices. Best Regards, Boris.
  2. Thanks for the kind words guys, very much appreciated! All the best, B
  3. Hi Everyone, Hope this finds the membership healthy and doing well during these crazy times. As some of you know, I have recently launched a new website www.tosoguya.com, which is now listed in Commercial 2 tab in the Links page of NMB. This new website replaces my old Yamabushi Antiques site. It will take time to make it's way up through Google search, so I wanted to post an update here. Please take the time to check it out, and follow the site as it evolves. Thanks all! PS - if anyone spots errors, issues or has suggestions, kindly let me know. The bugs are still being worked out... Best Regards, Boris.
  4. BMarkhasin

    Another Zogan

    Sergei, Nothing substantive has been done recently to further this area of study. Jim's was a good synopsis, and holds true. This is a group where there is general consensus of age and affiliations. The question of brass sourcing, quality etc... is still a subject of some debate and speculation. If all these tsuba are yours, its a great collection! Boris.
  5. Regarding the Owari, papers are absolutely irrelevant. At this pricepoint, you better bloody well know what you are buying, or simply have more money than brains. You absolutely have to handle pieces being sold at these price points. It is the subtleties which drive price well beyond the established 'norm'. Personally, like Curran, I am also scratching my head on this one (despite it being very pleasant), but also realize I may be missing something. I recently saw a tsuba with a US$16k price tag by photo, and thought exactly the same thing - why?? Then I saw it in hand, and the price became upper-end but justifiable. There is however the over-ambitious Japanese dealer factor to consider here... Boris.
  6. Ron, This stitching typically appears on saya that have a leather wrapping underneath the urushi. You see this with some frequency in old tachi saya - Kawa Tsutsumi no Tachi. They were essentially battlefield koshirae. The stitching can occur along the mune or along the side of the saya. I believe the thread is gut. There is a term for the stitching that I cant quite remember, but its something like kasanari tsugime (I probably totally pooched that, sorry). It is essentially a very fine "lapped seam". It takes great skill to keep the profile low, achieve a tight fit, and keep the seam evenly positioned the length of the saya. As a result there are few in Japan today who can restore this type of saya. I'm not sure if the same technique is used for brocade, but I suspect so. Best, Boris
  7. Ed, Pete... WOW, love the sakura, monkeys and the KoMino sets. Elegant... unlike me sitting here drooling. Boris.
  8. Its refreshing to see a focused, determined collector.. well done Jean!! You did a great job photographing the jihada. My favourite is the Hosho. Boris.
  9. All who new Craig will appreciate that our community has lost someone very special. When I think of Craig, I recall the items he chose to collect and taught me to appreciate. He loved little kokinko / tachikangushi tsuba -- simple, honest and common tsuba with depth and character that could only be discovered with handling and contemplation. They were an insight into his character and personality. Thank you, and rest in peace Craig... B
  10. I think crashing is a strong word, but I think there is growing fatigue on a number of levels. I agree mid range tosogu are most affected, and especially the schools of greatest popular appeal like Higo and Owari. The papering issues; currency fluctuations and economic pressures have all had negative effect. The low end market seems vibrant as always. High end markets are always driven by private sales and in Japan, dealers are having trouble accessing items before friends or family get them. I think collectors are not relying on papers as much as they used to. Speaking specifically about Koshirae markets, there have been some high profile repros entering the market over the last two years, so there is a heightened vigilance. Overall not a rosy time for tosogu or nihonto in general... Maybe I will find a hidden treasure at the Chicago show this weekend?! The eternal optimist..... Boris
  11. This will be my first time attending the Chicago show, so I'm really looking forward to it. See you all there. Boris
  12. David, I have to concur with Steve's comments on motif / dating, but it is a very nice guard and you are fortunate to own it. Well done. Best, Boris.
  13. Momoyummy, Kanayama (Owari) Gourds and Karigane Kanteisho 70 pts Nice tsuba. Boris.
  14. Hamish, Nice little kokinko tsuba. Looks like yamagane and black lacquer as David suggested, and i agree that it could easily be Muromachi. Brilliant price, well done! Boris.
  15. Nice find David. This piece is a notch up for your collection of old iron. I would add that the surface treatment is an old style, seen commonly from late Kamakura through the Muromachi. This surface pitting ornamentation seems to have been popular on both soft metal and iron tsuba, but of course time has removed most iron examples. Take a look back through some of Mariusz' posts of kokinko tsuba and you will see this style of surface treatment. This is essentially a kokinko tsuba in iron. This style of surface texture, with the robust sukashi on both sides of the nakago and the udenukiana on the bottom is considered mid - late Muromachi in most cases, so i would concur with your dating as plausible. I would suggest the kozuka ana was either added or increased in size as it clearly cuts out the original blossom sukashi (plum blossom?). Keep finding pieces such as this... Boris
  16. BMarkhasin

    Ko Kinko Beauty

    Great purchase! I am glad Mariusz's kokinko tsuba are finding homes where they are appreciated. Best, Boris.
  17. Thanks again Morita-san, and I have corrected the image -- not paying attention, sorry! Best, B
  18. Gents, Here is another one for the experts... From a Joshu Nobuie tsuba. Thanks. Best, Boris
  19. It seems this stamp has appeared in a wide variety of boxes and over a good span of time. I think it is more likely a collector, but admittedly I am guessing. Maybe someone will turn-up a hako gaki. Thanks again. Best, B
  20. Thanks Morita-san for confirming the correctness of the name. Any idea of who this person is??? I have emailed the seal to some dealers in Japan, and hope they will come back with some guidance. Best, Boris.
  21. Well it seems I'm the same predicament. I have recently purchased a piece with this same seal on the inside of the box lid. Unfortunately the pen name doesn't help in identifying the owner of the seal. What is needed is the seal in association with a recognizable hako gaki. It seems that whomever owns this seal was a very active collector into some high-end items, and thus is likely known to someone out there. Could I ask the NMB membership to kindly check any hako gaki for this seal?? Thanks again. Best Regards, Boris.
  22. While the blade looks great, I think this is one of the most unattractive koshirae I have ever seen. That baby blue aniline dye is horrific. Hard to say without having it in hand, but it seems modern made. That the koshirae is new shouldn't necessarily be off-putting, provided it is well done. Unfortunately, skill of execution discussions are rendered moot by the insensitive, gaudy, modern color scheme which completely diminishes the piece. It should be understood that what you are likely paying for here is market price for the aggregate time and labour of several modern shokunin (plus a healthy dealer premium). Impossible to compare on a value basis to antique koshirae -- apples and oranges... It will likely go juyo .... Couldn't resist!! Best, Boris.
  23. Hi Jeffrey, Tsuba without hitsu-ana (kogai and kozuka openings) generally are less common than those with, but this is an oversimplification. Some koshirae (ie. Tachi, handachi) are not designed to accommodate saya implements, and thus the corresponding tsuba should also not have had hitsuana - irrespective of age. Preservation is another factor. By this I mean that most modern koshirae (Muromachi onwards) do utilize some form of saya implement, so generally speaking most tsuba made from the 14th c (assuming they are not intended for tachi koshirae) should have hitsuana. Extant pieces of tosogu predating this period are extremely rare, and to find them in unaltered condition (ubu) is even more so, so our available data is highly skewed. Ubu is often used to describe tsuba with no hitsu-ana, but this is an inaccurate use of the term. There are numerous ubu tsuba, some very old, which have hitsu-ana. This just means they were originally designed with hitsu-ana. The complication enters the equation in determining which tsuba that now have hitsu-ana, actually had them added later in their lives. Some hitsuana were added very thoughtfully, preserving the plate or composition of any artistic elements. One other consideration is for which type of koshirae were the tsuba intended - personal koshirae tended to be equipped with saya implements, so corresponding tsuba (if used) should have had them as well -- and thus could have been ubu with hitsuana. In terms of value assessment, as usual, the details are all important. Ubu pieces generally carry more relative value in any condition. However, just because a tsuba has had later alterations, does not necessarily reduce its value. Everything has to be considered in context. This is complex subject, and has been in some way or another covered in the past on this board, so I suggest you run a search for past threads. Best Regards, Boris.
  24. Who loses? Well if everyone is a willing participant in the sordid game, then no-one.... Isn't that exactly the philosophy that keeps the shinsa orgs alive and well?? But I digress. Since I am now engaged in this rant, please allow one last verse as food for thought.. For all of us western collectors, please keep in mind that our idealized 'vision' of koshirae (especially older ones) is predicated on literally a handful of brutally over-published examples - ie. the idealized Higo, Toppei or Tensho koshirae. We also for some reason weave this idea of wabi-cha into our vision of Momoyama and early Edo koshirae because we have a collective obsession with Hosokawa Tadaoki (above Higo koshirae model). Collectively, we have adopted a vision of aesthetic for an entire Period, based on a snapshot in time of one (or two) koshirae of one individual's tastes. Thats like defining fashion of the 20th c. based on one or two preserved outfits in some museum, and thinking that this should have been what everyone else in that century must have aspired to look like! What if that preserved outfit was Liberace's?! There are actually many fully intact koshirae from these periods to draw on for a broader idea of prevalent aesthetics. We need to do that. Seriously, I want to scream every time I see some soft doe-skin wrapped fern-green tsuka! Just picking on one style here, so forgive me -- its actually beautiful and I love the originals as much as everyone else. But this is a self-limiting and incorrect methodology, resulting in a 'western koshirae'. ... not even bringing up the dragons.... There were as many variations of koshirae as wearers - this is especially true for older examples, from a time when there were no regulations governing aesthetics. PHEW! I feel better now. Thanks! Best, Boris
  25. Thanks for circling back to the discussion Peter. I also don't care for 'tricked-out' koshirae as you say, and I think that it is reprehensible behaviour to break apart an intact (unmolested) koshirae for profit. However, I can see some grey in this debate. With age, koshirae degrade - worming, lacquer loss, corrosion, disintegration are all realities with koshirae. Consider if the koshirae in question was already 'Frankenstein-ed' beyond hope by some previous misguided owner, or damaged beyond any reasonable hope of salvage. How about a partial koshirae - saya, tsuka, tsuba, kashira, f/k hopelessly damaged or missing. Broken saya, missing kojiri? Wormed kaeritsuna and kurikata? Splitting, cracking lacquer? Disintegrated or badly damaged tsukamaki? Lost menuki etc... I personally don't see a major issue with reassembling or replacing a part that is damaged beyond salvage, or a part that was an obvious and poor swap by the previous owners. Nor do I see a problem with disarticulation - ie. stripping a tsuba if inappropriate/ contrived. The underlying motivation however must be for conservation / restoration. All such things need to be done in moderation in my personal opinion, and keeping the item in historical context is paramount. If such activities are undertaken thoughtfully and unhurriedly, they can benefit the koshirae and mitigate previous errors of judgement. There are some exceptional shokunin in Japan who specialize in restoration / conservation with an eye to maintaining historical and aesthetic integrity. They are as much historians as artists. I have used such services before and have been extremely satisfied with the results. Let me add another verse to Jon's original rant... As usual, greed motivates people to do some terrible things for a buck (or Yen). One of the most nefarious activities of dealers in Japan, is not simply 'tricking out' koshirae by swapping tsuba and tsuka, but creating fantasy pieces, from authentic period bits of individual tosogu. The same shokunin who are proficient at restorative work are increasingly being employed for big Yen to compile full koshirae. These are then quickly papered Juyo or Tokujuyo and sold for extremely high prices as originals. Last year I am sad to say I saw three such examples - 1 in a collection, 1 being marketed and another in the 'conceptual design' stage. I should add that they were all Muromachi period tachi and koshigatana koshirae (or designed to look like them). Makes swapping out a tsuba seem mundane, and opens the door for other uncomfortable debates. As Jon originally asked, The answer unfortunately is hell no. Caveat Emptor. Know your stuff... Best, Boris.
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