PAOLA

Thanks Brian for the welcome message. My main intersts are TSUBA, Fuchi-Kashira and Menuki and my little collection (around 40 pieces) is composed by these items, mainly TSUBA. I have started in collecting them around 20 years ago, being interested in Japanese Culture in all the different field of ancient art, I knew about TSUBA but never thought to collect them.....one day I was really captured by a Sukashi Tsuba displayed together with other Japanese items, inside a little Antiques shop and .......that was a love at first sight! I have not a particular criteria in chosing a piece....it depends if it is able to give me an emotion and if there is elegance and harmony in the piece; I like Tsuba and swords fittings because in such a limited space....Japanese artists and craftmen were abe to tell a story....to express an ideal thorugh the complex but fascinating Japanese symbolism, and this is something that never stop to fascinated me. When I have started my collection Tsubas were not so much popular in Italy and I was probably the only woman to collect them...now there is a wider knowledge of Japanese Culture and Arts but in any case there are not, here, so many collectors of NIHONTO and related items Paola

A Big Hello to everibody - My name is Paola Marinangeli, from Italy and after a period of absence, from this extremely interesting forum, I have registered again (having forgot my firm username .....) coming back to visit frequently the forum and learning a lot from ''expertise'' and postings A nice day to all and since today is Friday, a very good week end! Paola