Ford Hallam

boiling in caustic soda would be my first guess. That will also inhibit further rusting to a certain degree as any residue remaining in the iron will be alkaline.

In my opinion this is a perfectly genuine Edo piece (there is visible evidence of layering in the steel in a few places) but someone has subjected it to some sort of rust removal process (perhaps a mild pickle or similar) . The colour that does remain wouldn't be considered an art patina worth preserving.

Modern hobbyist work. Most probably Japanese though, based on the nunome-zogan technique.

you're welcome

Hi Peter I think in this instance the Kyo designation means Kyoto and Kenjo is the style, ie; these flat plate tsuba with fine wire nunome-zogan. Often these are more elaborately patterned, like the Seiyudo example, and it is thought they were intended as presentation gifts. In fact Kenjo means 'to present'.

Hi Jean it's not likely oxide but a sulphide :-) , it's a common misunderstanding to call all tarnish oxidisation. Rust on iron is mostly a form of oxidation. But if we recognise that it's not really the oxygen in the air that is the big problem with silver we can better understand how to manage it. It's not as bad as it used to be in the years before pollution became something we started to try and control, but there are still various sulphur compounds in the atmosphere. Hydrogen sulphide is one of the biggest culprits. Various papers, cardboards and packaging materials can also release sulphur compounds, with some cardboards it would sodium sulphide. Generally speaking re-cycled paper and card tends to have less of these sulphur compounds present. Synthetic foams contain other chemicals like chlorides and fluorides which are also capable of causing tarnish. Even bubble wrap releases tarnish inducing chloride. Humidity, heat and the length of time of exposure are obviously all factors. You can get tarnish inhibiting capsules to store with your silver which might help reduce the problem for you. I can send you some links. And sulphur compound free storage boxes and tissue...if you want to go that far :-)

he he he please forgive me Jean but someone has to put the record straight and I would be failing in my duty to you all, as Chief metallurgical pedant, if I didn't say something at this juncture. In actual fact and contrary to what is often suggested, even by experienced jewellers (who really should know better ) silver does not oxidise very easily or quickly under normal conditions. With jewellery alloys, like Sterling silver with 92.5% silver and the balance copper, the non-silver part (the copper) may oxidise but the silver, if it goes black, is inevitably forming a silver sulphide. The problem with silver sulphides is that they can continue to build up until an attractive glossy black surface is achieved (this would be under fairly stable conditions where just enough sulphur was available in the air) but then, because this sulphide layer is more brittle than the underlying silver that it is consuming (exactly like rust on iron) it begins to crack and flake off. At this point the underlying silver can often be seen as a dull white and coarsely corroded surface. Restoring this sort of surface damage on fine carvings and inlay is extremely difficult. The management of this sort of 'darkened' silver finish is therefore not always simple or straightforward. I have written a short chapter on this and similar issues in my book which I hope will help inform the discussion moving forward.

School of Shoami Denbei, imo. :-)

Hi Johni, Franco In my opinion, Johni, your tsuba is a true shakudo. Based on a few dozen analyses I've done of similar pieces I'd say it contains between 0.5 to 1% gold, probably a similar amount of silver and around 0.5 to 0.8% arsenic. I would be very surprised if those copper patina patches didn't come back to a good black, however, they won't while that copper patina is protecting what's underneath. It may be that copper seppa caused the rubbing and there is now more copper on the surface then when it was new. The arsenic is almost certainly a deliberate addition, it's part of a pre-alloy that was made prior to the addition of the gold and silver. This procedure is described in older texts. I've now amassed a few dozen analyses of shakudo pieces, Ko-mino, Ko-goto, and the rest, right through to late 19th cent. I can't see any real patterns in terms of age though so calling something Muromachi shakudo is pretty much a spit in the dark in terms of accuracy, imo. The depth of the black patina is not inevitably linked to the gold content. So, a supposed link between 'quality' in terms of patina richness and 'quality' in terms of imagined gold content can't convincingly be made. I have images and analyses of samples with as little as 0.5% gold and one with as much as 7%, It's almost impossible to tell the patina colours apart. I have yet to encounter an antique (pre-1900) shakudo that was only copper and gold. Silver is always present and in probably over 95% of samples there is also a trace of arsenic. The arsenic is important and, I believe, plays an important role in those shakudo that do exhibit a tendency to 'self heal'. The colour of shakudo patina is very much effected by the surface finish of the alloy. Older pieces often have a subtle micro-corroded surface. I believe that this results in the appearance of a deeper black patina as the light it reflects is somewhat diffused whereas a finer mirror finish reflects the light more directly resulting something of a bluish tint. There are many other factors that can be considered when trying to asses old shakudo. Under certain conditions rubbed shakudo can reform more of a copper patina, perhaps a different sort of body chemistry in the last handler of the piece is the key. All this to say i think we ought to be a lot more cautious and less confidant when judging these things.

Oh No!!! I thought I had a handle on this, what's 'brown shakudo'?

Greg, If you don't want to go to the hassle of making up some matsuyani (there are detailed instructions on my forum) I'd be more than happy to pop a bit in an envelope and send it up. It's a bit fiddly to use effectively as a 'glue' but I can call to talk you through it. regards fh

Marco, pm me and let me know what shape you need/want. I have some in stock for students.

Thanks Gents, good to know you're finding this evolving story interesting. I really am working as hard and fast as i can to get this all wrapped up but I must be careful not to get sloppy and make sure it al comes together properly and coherently. Not too long now.

I delivered this presentation last year at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. There is obviously lots more to the brief outlines I've presented in the lecture I'm sharing today, and tons of references and sources cited. I know all of this this will only unleash a storm of questions and speculation but I'm afraid I can't properly engage in any lengthy discussions at this time as I really am up to my eyeballs doing my best to get to the end of this project. I've added a few more details and posted the whole lot with supporting images and tables of data on my forum here. I hope it's of interest.

Almost certainly excess wax. I'd suggest a little ethanol on a cottonwool earbud/Q-tip to wipe it off.

Looks like oxidised wax to my eyes. That and perhaps some bits of magnetite, black rust and geothite, an active brown rust. It's highly unlikely that we'd find martensite in ferrous tsuba as they are not generally heat treated nor do they contain sufficient carbon.

Brain, a poor model indeed The wheel might be those representing the Emperor's carriage, a common Heian period motif, sometime also shown in waves or with a mantis. Each referencing different themes/ideas. As a Kimono motif the 'wheel' is simply called 'Guruma' according to this kimono fabric website. "A popular kimono pattern since the Heian Era 794 - 1185 AD. The Gengii Guruma was Heian Oxcart that was linked to the wheel of Karma in the Buddhist tale of Genji. Mizu-garuma is a similar motif, but is a waterwheel." Not so sure about the explanation here though :-p Oxcart, wheel of Karma Buddhist mash up .

There are a number of things about this tsuba that make me suspect that it is of fairly recent production. It was probably made in Japan though, by a hobbyist. Those "famous production flow' images are a bit dodgy too and those are definitely not Japanese fingers in that image showing the piercing work being carried out, they're mine

Thanks Gents for the additional info. It does look like Parcelforce Global Priority is the only real option. Parcelforce is partnered with EMS here in the UK.

that's a good plan, cheers Paul, I'll do that

Hi Paul thanks for that, Jo tried our local PO but Parcelforce down here are refusing it. A local Jobsworth I think.

Not that the USA needs any more weapons but I have a couple of blades I need to get over there. I haven't had to do this sort of shipping for some time now and was wondering what experiences members here in the UK have had and if there were any recommendations as to the best options. Thanks in advance for any help. regards to all Ford

Rather amusingly the author seems confused as to the reading of the mei on the tsuba on page 43. I can't properly see the first kanji but the second is unmistakable as it that very distinctive Kao. As many will recognise this is the mei of Kano Natsuo, only one of the the most famous of Kinko artists :-) It's hard to properly asses the work but the actual monkey is a very close match to one Natsuo did on a well published iron version.

Steve Your guess is as good as mine as to why 'scholars' in this field decided on the Onin period for the production of said guards. (as one example) . Ultimately those that make such a claim must provide reasoning and evidence to back that claim. All I can do if follow what evidence there is and draw my own conclusions. Then again, to be fair, we have a far more detailed picture now of Japan's pre-Edo period than the early tsuba Sensei would have had at the end of the 19th century. No doubt much of what they were working from was more akin to folk lore and legend than the sort of academic research we expect today. This is a brief description of the Onin wars, taken from my own text but based on the work of a contemporary specialist Historian. Does this environment sound like the likely creative hotbed that saw the birth of a flash new decoration using the very latest import material from abroad? In fact the political and economic situation across the country and for the following 100 years, the Warring States Era, was pretty desperate with ongoing warfare and theft of crops by essentially parasitic troops that left the population starving and in continual fear for their lives. Periodic crop failures and epidemics of disease added to the chaos. Between 1450 and 1540 there was a 9 year smallpox epidemic, in some villages wiping out 50% of the inhabitants, seven years of measles and two of a deadly strain of influenza...not a good time to get ill. This was the most prolonged and devastating period of war in Japan's history.

Hi Steve, yes this is an extended section in the book... but I don't mind sharing broad strokes :-) Metallic zinc was also being made in Zawar in Northern India, by some account as early at the 10th century. This was a different process from that of the Chinese. However that centre of production was fully under a Monopoly of Muslim traders operating out of Alexandria. This is remarkably well documented and why the Portuguese were so intent on finding an alternative route to India other that down the Red Sea. The Portuguese finally do get involved, under Vasco DaGama, in trade out of India by the early 16th century 1300 miles to the South in Goa.There has been some speculation that the Portuguese may have been involved in metals trade but there is no actual material evidence to support this. By the early 17th century production at Zawar had declined so much that India was importing zinc from China. Portuguese trade with Japan properly only begins in 1571 and consists largely of luxury goods like silk and porcelain from China. Official Japanese trade with China had ended in 1549 so the Portuguese were acting as intermediaries.