Rodenbacher

bump

When I bought this tsuba it was described as dating from the "18th century". It is made of bronce, the measurements are: height 68 mm and thickness 3,4 mm at the Nakago-Ana. You can clearly see traces of black lacquer on the mimi. It has been in the collection of the Belgium collector Paul de Coninck before. What do you think about that Tsuba?

I know, it's a bit off topic, but maybe it's of interest for you: The first Tsuba you showed has a very common motif - but I heard a few different interpretations of it. I own a Tsuba with the same motif but totally different in school and period. This Tsuba has been in the deConinck Collection and he described it on his file card as "fenetres" (windows), but on the backside of this card he added that it is the motif of "two measuring boxes". Trudel Klefisch described the motif in her auction (where I bought it) as "Ober- bzw. Unterteil einer Lackdose, um 180 Grad gedreht" (upper and lower part of a lacquer box, turned in 180 degree). So please pick the interpretation you like... :D

Farmer on its way to harvest. You can also see the horsetail he is going to cut.

Dear Stephen, In the time when this Tsuba was made, Tsuba and Kodogu where rather a symbol of status than functional fighting items. But in this case I think it would have worked. The iron is forged and wouldn't break. You will find finely carved sukashi Tsuba also in the Momoyama and Genroku period when Samurai really used them for fighting.

Dear Soshin thanks a lot. That was very helpful. I did not think it's Daigoro because I have seen only Pictures of Daigoro Tsuba with rather complicated structures. Motifs of reeds or so, distributed about all the plate, tiny sukashi -a bit like Namban Tsuba. But you are right, it really could be a Daigoro. It makes more and more sense the more I think about it. Thank you very much.

Hi Soshin, Already done just two posts before!

Thank you very much, Gentlemen! Peter

Any other opinions?

Any other opinions?

Okay, hope, these are better

You are right, the lighting is bad - the Tsuba is dark black coloured. It's Shakudo. This picture here is more accurate concerning the colour. It is not a high end Tsuba but it's a good one and I like it. I paid less than 200.- USD for it and it was a steal.

Thanks a lot! The height of the Tsuba is 86mm, the width is 82mm,the thickness is 5mm (mimi and seppa dai).

Dear Gentlemen, and here another question. This Tsuba was sold to my as Owari. What do you think? It has really prominent Tekkotsu which look like bones under skin, the best I ever saw (but who am I?). You can even see one of them in the front view(upper right of the mimi). But what about the carving in the surface? What about the motif, which is rather unusally for Owari (in my opinion...). I really need your help here! The Tsuba is 79mm in height, thickness is 4mm at the seppa-dai and the same at the mimi. Patina is fantastic, deep chocolate brown. Best regards Peter

Dear Gentlemen, this Tsuba was sold to me as Akasaka, but I think it seems to me as it was Kyo Sukashi. What do the experts think? Another question: is the crack in the mimi a proof for a layered construction of the plate - or is it just a crack, nothing more? Regards Peter

Dear Gentlemen, I recently bought that Tsuba at the last auction of Klefisch, Cologne. It was described as Edo-Kinko, but I want to ask you as experts what you think about it. Does anybody know more details about the school or something? The Tsuba is really small, for a Tanto, just 58mm high. The detailed work of the blossoms in the mimi is stunning. A nice detail is the highly polishes seppa-daiwhich contrasts nicely to the rather ichimeji surface of the rest of the plate. This feature can be seen best in the last picture. Peter

Thanks a lot, gentlemen, I really appreciate your help!

The paper...

Dear Gentlemen, i bought a papered Tsuba, but I cannot read the paper. I do not need an exact translation, but I want to know what is told about the age and the school the tsuba was made. And I wonder who wrote this paper as it does not look as a NBTHK paper to me. The seller of this tsuba wrote: "The papers attribute the tsuba to "3rd generation Akasaka Tadatoki". This would be Tadatoki H09167 in the Haynes index who died in 1796 and was the sixth master of the Akasaka school." I have no reason to doubt that as the seller seems very reliable to me!!! But please understand that I want to have other opinions of some experts from this forum. Thanks a lot! Peter Diemer

I bought a small Tsuba in Kawari Gata Shape. Nara Style, ca. 1800, signed Michitoshi (& Kao). Height is 6,3 cm. I love it but I just wonder what the sense of a Kawari Gata is? Will it not make it rather difficult to draw your sword? The rectangle edges on the bottom must be very uncomfortable when they get into a tangle with the Kimono, I suppose... I don't think its just a display piece at it was definitely mounted on a sword. Any suggestions?

Yes, you are right concerning the hitsu-ana. At the photos the hitsu-ana looks well done but in reality you can feel with your fingertip that it is uneven at the inside. And it is not placed exactly in the middle. But on the other hand it is not really bad. I just think it was cut out later. Maybe "poor done" is a bit too harsh.

The Nakago Hitsu-Ana is original, but not the Kogai Hitsu-Ana. Any other opinions about this Tsuba?

More details

Here is another Tsuba I have questions about. It comes from a german collection and shows traces of the collectors number on the backside. Is this Heianyo style? I always thought Heianyo to be more elegant and better done. The carving on the brass seems to be poorly done here. Is it from the Edo period or earlier? What is your opinion? It is a very thick and massive Tsuba with a well forged iron plate. The measurements: 67 x 66 x 5 mm

Some details. The turtles seem to be made from bronze, the smaller one is gilded. The rock on the left side seems to be bronze too. The rim is darker copper, as some scratches on it show the material.