Ian B3HR2UH

Hi Anthony , I also purchased a few items at the auction and am really pleased with them . I don't think that there has ever been a bigger or better auction of fittings in this country . I understand that the vendor lived in London at one time and purchased items from Sotheby's and probably other auction houses in the 70's . I have a few Sothebys catalogues from this era and a lot of the pieces auctioned last night are in them. Lot 317 is in one of the Sotheby's catalogues and it gives the maker of your piece as Umetada Chikashige . The seal on the back is his according to Shosankenshu . The other interesting information is that according to the catalogue this piece was in the Seymour Trower collection . My quick look at the Trower sale catalogue didn't pick it up but with a little more time I hope that you do. Ian Brooks

HI Mark , meeting Barry Thomas was the first big step . Regards Ian

I doubt that this is Japanese Ian Brooks

HI Bob , 1969 Regards Ian

Hi Bob , I came across your Ikkin tsuba in the Fahrenhorst collection book and thought you would like to see it Ian Brooks

Here are a couple of mine Dan . The " hook " fitting is more typical of Army belts but I am sure it is just a choice of the manufacturer . Ian Brooks

I have a sword that a previous owner loved so much that he took it to bed with him ! Guess he fell out of love . Ian Brooks

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression . These are not pieces that I am wanting to buy . The owner asked for an opinion on values which I gave him . I posted here so he would get alternative views. Ian Brooks

Thank you all for your opinions . It is interesting to see the range of views from 2500AU to 6000 US . There is a comparable piece on Jauce at the moment for 800,000 yen ( g1116642310 ). Of course it may sit there unsold for ages at that price . I said to the owner that if it was my sword I would be pretty disappointed if I couldn't get 5000 $AU for it and pretty happy if I got $7000 AU for it

Yes Bazza , you may be right but what say you, as an occasional cataloguer, about its value . The blade itself has some real quality about it and I think you would like it . Ian

Sorry for the delay in posting these photos . The photo of the nakago doesn't do justice to this piece , it is a beautifully cut mei and the patination on the nakago is a lovely dark chocolate brown . The strong impression I got was that the blade was was correct . I haven't checked the mei but the workmanship in the blade is excellent and I would be really surprised if it wasn't shoshin . The horimono may be added . Thanks for your comments to date Ian Brooks

Could I thank members for their input and advice on the last piece that I posted . Can I ask for opinions on this piece . It is very showy and probably quite late . The blade is however shinto , of good quality and in good condition . I have little doubt that the blade is genuine although the horimono may be added later . What do members think this might be worth . To some extent I am asking so that the owner will get a feel for the accuracy of the prices that I gave him . Ian Brooks

Thank you all for your comments . I said to the owner that if it was mine and I put it in an auction then I would be pretty disappointed if it only made $ 1500 AU and really happy if it got to $2500 AU . To some extent I based this on a Kai Gunto in the big Lloyds auction which sold for $3500 AU . That sword had a good old blade and superior mount on it and was, I thought, a far more desirable piece than this . I was the underbidder . I also recall a nice Kai gunto with a Koto Sukesada blade that despite being a reasonable price sat in the for sale section here ,unloved for a long time . I might however be showing my bias towards old blades and my disdain of Showa To here . Steve's assessment might prompt the owner to test the waters on this site . I will post the other one soon. Ian Brooks

A collector out here has recently gone into aged care. Fortunately he has left descriptions of his swords for the family . I saw his son last week and looked at the swords . His son asked my opinion on prices which I tried to give . This is difficult as pieces in some auctions seem to sell for silly amounts whilst in other auctions they sell for very little . I hope to post a couple of pieces here and to compare what I thought they were worth to what other members here might think . The first is a Kai gunto with seki stamped blade by Kanenao . All in good condition with two really unusual features . The sarute has the wings motif which is only the second one that I have seen . The same on the saya has been lacquered black but never filled or polished back which is something that I have never seen before. . The notes are the owners. What do people think such a piece might be worth with a willing seller and a willing buyer ? Ian Brooks

Last week I saw an interesting , to me , sword. It was a kai gunto with an old mumei out of polish kanmuri otoshi shaped blade, unfortunately with a large kizu in it .There was an old paper tag typed or printed in English with the owners name Air Commodore Cooper and the former owners name Petty Officer Fukuda on it. The attached photo shows the name on the kabuto gane which I read as Tokuji . O'Neil says that this is a place name and my quick research shows that it is also a personal name . Do I have the reading right as Tokuji and is this a surname , personal name , place name or something else ? Under the fuchi Tokuji is written on the left hand side and Fukuda at the bottom. Do the katakana on the right side read mumei and can anyone make anything of the rest of the characters? The piece is interesting as it confirms that the names written under the fuchi are those of the owner and not that of the person who bound it or put it together. Ian Brooks

I have come across a few swords , wakizashi usually , with cast tsuba on them . Poor or gullible samurai must have been using them.

The tanto is a Chinese fake and the wakizashi is signed Echizen ju Shimosaka

Hi Bob, attached are the entries from the Milward Catalogue . The Clement Milward collection was sold by Sothebys in two parts . The first part was on the 27th of june 1967 and the second on the 11th June 1968 . There were 69 swords and 361 fittings lots . The latter is somewhat misleading as many of the lots had multiple items in them . For example lot 420 contained 14 sets of fuchi kashira . Mr Milward had some really fine pieces in his collection . Many of the pieces list their provenance ie ex Peak , Bradshaw Joly and Naunton collections . This is something that I like about many of your pieces where you have also set out their provenance.

Fake Fake Fake

Hi Bob , I will take photos of the Milward catalogue entry and post them. My technical skills are a bit limited so it will take a few days. Ian Brooks

These were being faked so a purchaser would be taking a huge risk buying this on the strength of a sarute . I have seen one real one in fifty years ! Ian Brooks

That is a great kozuka Bob . I had a look at it in the Milward and Monzino catalogues and whilst the Milward cat described it as a masterpiece you would hardly go out of your way to buy it based on the catalogue photos . In your photo though it is really something else . Thanks for posting all of your pieces. Ian Brooks

Hi John, I wonder if this is an homage to a traditional tachi sarute where there is a v shaped scroll where the shakudo section meets the gilded part ? Regards Ian

Unfortunately it is an oil quenched Showato Jon . Ian Brooks

Hi Sam , go to the Nihonto information section on this site and then go to research and then to to Fake Japanese swords . You will find all the information that you need there . Ian Brooks