Hi thanks for your input, I have a couple of this type of tsuba well ok I have 4; the first one I bought had this to say about it:
“A Bushu-Ito School sentoku tsuba in the shape of a stylized dragon. The signature reads: Bushu ju Masanao. According to Susuma Kashima’s ‘Nihon Soken Kinko Nenpyo’, this Masanao was a student of Masayoshi, the 4th generation master of the Bushu-Ito school from Edo). The condition of this well made tsuba from an old Dutch private collection is good, with minor scratching and an old patina. The tsuba measures 6,5 cm in height and 5,5 cm in width and has a thickness of 5 mm. 19th century. 1800-1849 “
This particular piece came from the Glerum Auctioneers in Amsterdam and was part of a lot that had three tsuba contained in it.
The other three, well one is not signed and the other two are signed by Toshimasa none of these are made from Iron and all were bought from reputable dealers.
Another piece of information I have found says that you should find a similar example in the book H L Joly Nauton page 89 N 1212 but this I cannot confirm as I do not have the said book.
Regards
Frank