Higo-san

Thank you so much, Peter! You hit the nail precisely on the head. I did not realize that there was an oil jug depicted on the menuki! Best Chris

Dear all I own a pair of menuki mounted on a beautiful tanto koshirae and signed Imai Kyusai Sei (今井 亨斎製) who was also called Nagatake (NBTHK judgement: Horyu which I can very well understand and accept). I am not looking for an authentication of the mei on the menuki but rather am I interested in the story which is shown on the menuki. What can be seen? It seems like a thief wearing a straw hat was caught in the middle of stealing a tea pot on the one side which does not amuse a lord who is ready to draw his sword on the other menuki. Does someone recognize the legend behind this scene? Kind regards Chris

Okay - now a last chance for all bargain-lovers: EUR 1,000.00 until the end of the week.

No further discounts - but maybe some additional pictures might help !

I was requested to provide additional pictures of the kogai-hitsu which is original and was not modified at some point.

Bump! Final price cut to EUR 1,200.00 plus shipping costs!

Got it, Steve! Best Chris

Yes it is still available - this tsuba dates from the Momoyama / earliest Edo period!

Price cut to EUR 1300.00 plus shipping!

BUMP

Huge price cut to EUR 1500.00!

Price drop to EUR 160.00 plus shipping!

Price drop to EUR 1,700.00 plus shipping - just to remember everone: this piece has been confirmed as an authentic Owari piece by the NBTHK last year!

Thank you Steve!

Thank you, John!

Dear Okan the signature on the second menuki reads Miyashita (宮下). I am not 100% sure on the very first kanji on the first menuki but the second is definitely Masa (正). A quick research let me to page 221 of “The Japanese Toso-kinko Schools“ by Markus Sesko where the family name Miyashita is mentioned. The article is about an artist by the name of Toshinori. The Nori-Kanji looks like an extended version of the missing first kanji on your first menuki. Therefore, I would suggest NORImasa as a possible translation of the mei of the first menuki. Kind regards Chris

Dear all maybe someone can help on two signatures: 1) Signature on hanging scroll (the hako-gaki next to it) 2) Inscription on a chawan box (which contains a modern Setoguro Chawan) Thanks & kind regards Chris

Price reduction to EUR 180 plus shipping

Price reduction to EUR 1,800.00 plus shipping

I think Darrel hit the nail. Thanks!

You are right, Piers!

Price drop to EUR 210.00 plus shipping

Dear all I also have this set of nice little menuki which I would like to offer for sale. These came from an old wakizashi mounting with an old handle wrapping which unfortunately fell apart. The menuki are slightly bent (which is not a damage but an important feature for authentic old menuki) and date from the second half of the Edo period. The style is clearly influenced by machibori schools like the Ishiguro school. Even though the quality is far away from the Ishiguro masterpieces, the amount of detail is still quite nice. Dimensions (each): Width: 2.94 cm (Average) Height: 1.25 cm Thickness: about 0.4 cm Asking price: EUR 240.00 plus actual shipping costs from Germany (will be somewhere between EUR 15 and EUR 45 depending on your location) Best Chris

Dear all letting go of this tsuba was not an easy decision but there are other major investments ahaead... this sale is about an investment-grade Owari tsuba with an almost perfect (!) maru-gata shape and plenty of tekkotsu. The quality of the iron is very high and has much appeal to it. The mimi is kaku-mimi and the design was judged as jumon (which can roughly be translated as a complex pattern). The attribution has been confirmed by the NBTHK. The Hozon papers have been issued this year. The tsuba came to me from an old French collection. Dimensions: Width: 7.57 cm Height: 7.56 cm (Average) Thickness at the seppa-dai: 0.57 cm (Average) Thickness at the mimi: 0.59 cm Nakago-ana: Width: 0.97 cm Height: 2.65 cm Asking price: EUR 1,900.00 plus actual shipping costs from Germany (will be somewhere between EUR 25 and EUR 65 depending on your location) Best Chris

Signature 4 may read 高来 (Korai). Is there a 越前 (Echizen) on the other side? Kind regards Chris