TETSUGENDO

It was love at first site...still beautiful!! -S-

Thanks for the enjoyable journey Peter, lovely! Also, the Restorient studio does extremely fine work...a great asset for those in need of museum grade conservation. Excellent! Cheers, -S-

Seguro! -S-

Hi Chris, I wouldn't bother with a commission as fine dragon menuki are available. Just frequent the better sites, search the net, and you'll find exactly what your looking for. Be patient. Cheers, -S-

Jeremiah, Hope it's all you wished it would be...enjoy! -S-

Nice tsuba Grev, absolutely NOT the work of Isando Joi, 99.9% of things signed and/or sealed by him are fakes. I'm sure you already knew that,still an attractive thing. -S-

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I don't see sceptres, rocks, sand gardens, or frolicking horses, perhaps my vision is failing! Are those horses...strange looking. The only thing I'm certain of is that I'm not certain what the kozuka portrays. This piece is like a Rorschach test. -S- p.s.- Does anyone see a tortoise/turtle head in the picture below?

Good article Peter, as expected, let's not forget that the Vatican owns the largest collection of erotica and pornography in the World. -S-

Here is a picture from the Tetsugendo website of a similar koshirae with the wrappings intact. It is dated circa1700 and the mounts are papered to Goto. I doubt Emporer Meiji would gift anything of lesser quality to a King. -S-

Everything looks first rate Pietro, beautiful. Wonder what happened with the tsukamaki. All the other fabrics look reasonably well preserved, odd that just the ito was affected. -S-

I believe the phallus form item on the left may be a Genbu (tortoise/snake composit). It is one of the four compass point guardian spirits that protects Kyoto on the north. It is represented at the Kenkun shrine where Oda Nobunaga is interred. As he both died and was buried in Kyoto this piece may be a reference to him? For more related info refer to: black tortoise- on Wikipedia. As for the creature on the right I'm not sure what it is, or what it's significance may be. Cheers, -S-

Jareth, A very fine inheritance. It's a beautiful example in excellent condition, and a desirable motif. Take care of it, don't clean or alter it in anyway. -S-

Chris it's all about what they are not how they're made. It's a collection of 1 rare piece, 1 very uncommon one, and 1 a scarce one...the designation of the koshirae is the thing. -S-

Looks like you did well at the free/flea market Christophe. Looks real to me, nice Centipede. -S-

Peter, I know many people who are 'serial' collectors, they rotate through various interests depending on their inclinations. I don't know how many areas of collecting you are involved in but, if this sounds like you, your probably caught up in something else at the moment and will take up tosogu again at some future rotation. If, on the other hand, you only have a couple areas of collecting you may have been on the wrong journey. Tosogu may not be your 'thing'....only time will tell. BTW, what's wrong with cufflinks? Cheers, -S-

Absolutely gorgeous again, and always! Cheers, -S- p.s.- Nice to see you back Pete, bon appétit !

Yes Henry, it should be obvious to everyone as the text states it and the image speaks for itself. I posted it because I found it aesthetically related. -S-

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Good find George, a shame the listing is so vague. Seems FM didn't know anything about this carver either. Wonder what our Japanese language scholars will make of Takaharu?. -S-

Piers, I recall INS (netsuke not immigration) wasn't very helpful, If you haven't tried already enter...netsukeonline.org...in your browser. It would be nice to add some biographical info to that name, maybe they can help. Cheers, -S-

Artur, I suspect the members of the NMB can supply you with all the "projects" you'll need and more. Your already known to us by the work you did for Robin, a member here. He shared the progression and many of us were favorably impressed. -S-

From the WALTERS ART MUSEUM, tsuba with rabbit in the moon (making sweet Mochi) by Nakamura Chikayori (Edo/Meiji) in shibuichi, gold, silver. -S-

A rabbit would be perfect, I can just picture it!