Steve Waszak

Price reductions on a few of the above tsuba: #23, the Ohno tsuba with the snowflake motif, now $300. #24, the Kikugata tsuba with the kirimon motif, now $200. #25, the large tsuba with the umbrella motif and "Nobuie" mei, now $450. #26, the large tsuba with the brass inlay and silver fukurin, now $250. All prices above do not include shipping.

Tsuba #28 is SOLD.

There are still about a dozen tsuba available, but they are going fast. If there are particular pieces that interest you, and/or if you are interested in putting together 3-4 of these in a package, let me know.

#18 has SOLD.

Tsuba #22 is on HOLD.

Here is the final group of tsuba I am helping my friend move: Tsuba #26. 8.3 cm x 8 cm x 4mm. Brass inlay (two colors). The inlay is almost completely intact -- just three dots missing from the leaves. This guard features what appears to be a silver "rope" fukurin. $325. Tsuba #27. 7.8 cm x 7.7 cm x 5mm. Kyo-sukashi style sword guard. $175. Tsuba #28. 7.6 x 7.4 x 6mm. Interesting alternating diagonal carving on rim (shifting from lobe to lobe). Note the chrysanthemum punchmark in the tagane at the top of the nakago-ana on the omote. Shakudo glides at the hitsu-ana. $250.

Okay, resuming with more tsuba now. . Tsuba #23. Ohno tsuba. Early Edo. Pronounced tekkotsu with snowflake motif. Mokko-gata. Excellent condition. 71.5 cm x 6.5 cm x 5mm. $375. Tsuba #24. Kiku-gata/motif. Fine kebori on the leaves. Excellent condition. 7.2 cm x 7.2 cm x 4.5mm. $250. Tsuba #25. Large maru-gata sword guard with motif of an umbrella. Fine tsuchime complemented by a light amida-yasuri on the plate. Beautiful color to this iron. There is a signature on the right side of the seppa-dai reading "Nobuie," though this is hard to see with the abrasions to the metal there. The rectangular hitsuana are very pleasing. 8.5 cm x 8.4 cm x 2.5mm. This is a strong tsuba. $650.

HI Brent, Sorry about that. I just cleared some space in my PM inbox. In any event, I am holding tsuba #20 for you.

Tsuba #19: 7.8 cm x 7.7 cm x 3.5mm. $90. Tsuba #20: 8 cm x 7.8 cm x 3.5mm. $100. *Note that this tsuba has had an impact at about 10:00 - 11:00 on the omote. See the metal that has been distorted here. Tsuba #21: 7.3 cm x 6.7 cm x 3.5mm. Kiri-mon motif. $100. Tsuba #22: 7.5 cm x 7 cm x 3mm. Yamakichibei-esque design and treatment. $100. All four for $300 plus shipping.

Here is the next group: Tsuba #15: 7.3 cm x 7.3 cm x 4mm. $125. Tsuba #16: 6.5 cm x 6.5 cm x 3.5mm. $100. Tsuba #17: 7.1 cm x 7.1 cm x 3mm. $75. Tsuba #18: 8 cm x 7.9 cm x 3.5mm. $100. All four for $300. Plus shipping, of course. *Apologies for the sideways images. Not sure why they are loading that way...

#12 and #13 are on HOLD.

#11 is on HOLD.

Tsuba #11: 8 cm x 7.8 cm x 5mm. Powerful Kiri-mon design. $175. Tusba #12: 7.4 cm x 7.4 cm x 3.5mm. $125. Tsuba #13: 7.9 cm x 7.7 cm x 2.5 - 3.0mm. $90. Tsuba # 14: 7.4 cm x 7.2 cm x 4mm. Good iron. $150. All four for $475, plus shipping.

#7 on HOLD.

Tsuba 1, 2, and 8 are on HOLD.

Tsuba 4, 5, and 6 are on HOLD.

Tsuba #10 is on HOLD.

Next group up: Tsuba #7: 7.4 cm x 7.2 cm x 3mm. This piece has nice shakudo inserts for the hitsu-ana. Strong tsuchime on the plate. $125 Tsuba #8: 7.1 cm x 6.6 cm x 6mm. Two-piece construction. The motif may be a Christian reference. $90 Tsuba #9: 7.4 cm x 7.2 cm x 5mm. Irregular shape with mixed motifs. Not one you see everyday. $125 Tsuba #10: 8 cm x 7.0 cm x 4mm. An acid-etched motif. Ubu (no hitsu-ana). With some ivorying, this tsuba will look really good. $125 All four tsuba for $ $390.

Next group: Tsuba #4: 7 cm x 6.5 cm x 3 mm. Tsuba #5: 7.2 cm x 7.2 cm x 3.5 mm. Tsuba #6: 7.4 cm x 7 cm x 3.5 mm. $90 each. $250 for the lot. Plus shipping.

Tsuba #3 is on hold. Stay tuned for more...

A good friend has asked me to help him sell a number of iron tsuba, most of which are at the "starter tsuba" level and/or make fine study pieces. I will be posting 2-3 pieces at a time, over the course of several days, beginning with the three below. Prices will be LOW, so if you're looking for an opportunity to acquire a handful of varied iron tsuba CHEAPLY, this is it. I will provide measurements on each tsuba, but not much more information (unless there is something of note to add, such as that a given piece is papered, etc...). I will not be trying to identify a "school" for each guard, either. Prices listed do not include shipping/postage. Because these tsuba are being offered at such low prices, I prefer to find buyers in the U.S., unless a non-U.S. buyer is looking to acquire several pieces at once. Please let me know if you have any questions, or are looking for a particular type of sword guard that I haven't posted yet. First come, first served. Steve Each of the tsuba here is being offered at $125. If you want all three, the price is $300. Tsuba #1 dimensions: 7.9cm x 7.8cm x 5.5mm Tsuba #2 dimensions: 7.5cm x 7.3cm x 4mm Tsuba #3 dimensions: 7.7cm x 7.4cm x 5.5mm

Rabbit menuki (ko-kinko?) on the aikuchi koshirae (17th century) for a Wakasa no kami Ujifusa tanto.

Since I'm more of a fittings guy, I'll mention that for tsuba, a deal-breaker is human-figure subjects. So, Soten guards have zero appeal. Dragons are another big turn-off. But the biggest NO for me is Namban tsuba, whose busyness and Chinese sensibilities are like a repellant. There are others, but these top the list.

This motif and design were rather popular in the Momoyama Period. Here is an example by Kawaguchi Hoan. The addition of the gourds in gold and silver is intriguing, since chrysanthemum iconography can be tied to the imperial family and fealty to the emperor, and gourds (especially in gold) can be associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The shodai Hoan worked for the Asano clan, so it is interesting to speculate on possible political allusions with this tsuba.

Excellent, Tobi!