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As the subject line says, was just wondering who some of your favorite sellers of Tsuba are? Thanks, Pat R.

Keith - The condition of the piece is poor. It is riddled with rust. Also, it has an odd motif and I have not seen anything like it before, which makes identification (school, age, etc) very difficult. Not too mention it was on Ebay. I do hope, one day, to be able to look at a piece and say exactly what attributes make it less desirable as a collectable. Something to aspire to. I am still awaiting arrival of my Tsuba books afterall and I hope that may help me out a bit on that end. As for all the other things I learned from this board. Off the top of my head : - There are lots of reproductions and fakes out there, some are much easier to spot then others. - Some sellers or previous owners can mess up Tsuba by using abrasive cleaners, polish, paint, modifications, misuse, etc... - Some sellers specialize in selling flash Tsubas (some very late Edo made for export, some cast, some modern repros) to the unsuspecting or new collectors (like me). - I learned what NMB members recommend for Tsuba books to start out with. - Don't trust in Boston MFA attributions. - You can get carried away with a pretty motif and overlook poorly executed details like misalignments, drunken rim work, poorly executed seppa-dais, etc. - I learned I have a lot more to learn about collecting Tsuba (and that I am sure I will make some mistakes). I am sure there is more but you get the idea. Pat

No, I was just curious about the design of it.

Wanted your opinion on whether you think the attached Tsuba is a late Edo Heinjo copy? I compared it to some "real" early Edo Heianjo Tsubas incorporating the same design and a couple things appeared to me. First, the alleged copy is much thicker than the early ones. Secondly, the iron seems different to me. And then I ran across a 2009 thread with the same subject as this one. In there a couple quotes seemed to apply here : The iron does seem a tad glassy especially compared to the early ones. Also, 100% of the inlay is intact and the condition looks just too good for early Edo. And the next quote talks about when these late copies were made. Dr Torigoye wrote; So, is this one of those late copies? Or an authentic Early Edo Heianjo? I am attaching a few older ones for comparison purposes. Thanks, Pat R.

I am trying to understand what the Motif is for this Tsuba. Seller had someone look at it and their opinion was that it was probably the rear view of a woman's Yuigami(hairstyle) during the Edo period. And the golden inlay would be the hair ornaments. Anyone have any ideas? Also, have not seen anything even remotely close to this so would like to know the school for this one. Thanks, Pat R.

I am absolutely new to this area of study and can honestly say I missed the misalignments and drunken rim work. My eye has not been trained to look for such things so this is all a learning experience for me. But now, after they are pointed out to me, I can see them clearly. Personally speaking, I know that I have been "carried away" by a motif and as a result, overlooked some things. A few times actually, and this board as been great at pointing out those things out to me. It has been great. However, I am beginning to worry if I can actually afford this new hobby of mine! As you know, the better tsuba usually command the higher prices!! Pat R.

I was admiring our own David Stiles's fine collection of Tsuba. Very, very nice indeed. I then noticed his Awa Shoami piece had the same motif as one listed on flea bay. Thought I would post both of them up here because the similarity is interesting. David's Tsuba is so much nicer, of course! David's is an Awa Shoami school piece. The ebay one claims to be a Heinjyo piece. Thoughts? Pat R.

I agree with Ford that they probably came from the same school. Also, I had to relook at both and compositionally, I would have to agree that the second one is much more appealing. Though, I wonder if part of the problem lies with the Tsuba being photographed at an angle versus straight on. The only straight on shot of that Tsuba is of the back side so I thought I would attach it. Seems better compositionally looking straight on. Also, I noticed the MFA tree trunk is much more gnarly than the smooth Holbrook one.

Attached are 2 tsuba, the first one is from Skip Holbrook 's collection and is described as Bizen Shoami. As for the second one, I was going through the Boston MFA site and noticed a Tsuba sharing the same design. For the most part, just a couple small differences. That one is said to be from the Higo School, Nishigaki Sub-school. My question is, do different schools share Tsuba designs like this? Or is one of them associated with the wrong school? Thanks, Pat R.

Thanks for the recommendations, I have ordered some and look forward to reading them.

Can I get some recommendations on a couple books for someone just starting out collecting tsuba? Oh, and where I can purchase them from would be so much appreciated!! Thanks, Pat R.

This one looks a bit suspicious to me so I thought I would get your opinion. I see what potentially looks like flashing in the Ana (circled on the pics). Also, what looks to be a sharp ridge along the dragon's body. Plus the artistic style seems off. Patina has odd pinkish tones and one area looks stained or painted. So, is it a fake? That is my suspicion. Pat R.

Yep, too many issues. I am passing. I have learned a lot from this whole exercise and thank each and everyone of you. Patrick R.

If it is real, do you think the laquer/paint could be removed safely? Just curious.

The ebay seller who has the piece goes by the name zen-gallery and, I have been told he is a legit dealer based on other NMB member's input. Also, I have followed many of his latest sales and they all look authentic to me except for this one, of course. I messaged him because of my concern it was a reproduction. Here is his reply : We don't think it is a reproduction. Carving is real, not cast. However we do not know the school. I replied back about the black paint and am waiting to hear back from him. Patrick R.

By repro/copy, do you mean a chinese fake (recently made)? Thanks, Patrick R.

Thought I would post some close-up shots of this piece.

I do agree that something looks amiss with this piece. I say that after looking at a rather large amount of authentic pieces (a bunch with dragons). It just does not look right and it may very well be due to the cleaning done to it. Chinese fakes don't usually show this amount of discoloration and usually don't show much use where this piece does appear to be used. Unless it has been made to look that way to fool "us". I found a few pieces this morning on the web that use the same motif and share the similar style. I am going to dig them up and post them as well as report back the schools they listed. Maybe it will help solve it. Patrick R.

New to collecting and wondered your opinion (school, period, quality) on this one. Thanks, Patrick R.